The Oscars

Jada Pinkett Smith's truth bombs continue -- now, she's claiming Tupac's bald look was no coincidence, nor was it a fashion statement ... but rather, just straight-up hair loss.

The actress's latest revelation comes courtesy of her People Mag interview ... which just dropped this nugget of news Saturday. In their sit-down with her ahead of Jada's new book, they have her quoted as talking about Tupac's baldness -- with her saying he had alopecia.

Jada says, "I don't think Tupac ever talked about the alopecia he suffered from," going on to explain that his hair started falling out around 1991 -- when he would've been about 20 years old -- shortly after he had a famous run-in with cops in NorCal.

She adds, "[H]is alopecia patterns were far more extreme than mine. I don't think Pac ever talked about his alopecia, but he also looked really good with a bald head. But that was during a time and during an era that you wouldn't -- he just wouldn't talk about it."

One thing she does firmly believe -- if Pac was alive today ... he'd probably talk about it openly.

This is fascinating for a couple reasons ... for starters, it would seem to explain Tupac's bald look in the latter years of his life, when he was most famous. While he was younger and on the rise, he rocked notable 'dos -- particularly in the film "Juice."

It's also interesting because alopecia was apparently at the center of the whole Oscars slap last year -- when Chris Rock cracked a joke about Jada, spurring Will Smith to get up there and slap him.

Alopecia proved to be a touchy subject, and even now ... Jada thinks Chris took a low blow by referring to her condition. Still, Jada says she couldn't believe Will did what he did ... especially when he called her his "wife," a term she says they hadn't used in years.

BTW, this new Tupac news follows yet another big headline from earlier in the week -- namely, Jada calling the late rapper her "soulmate" ... but insisting they never banged.

Jada Pinkett Smith es una de las muchas personas que se alegra de tener a alguien rindiendo cuentas por el asesinato de Tupac Shakur, y así se lo ha hecho saber a sus millones de seguidores.

La actriz utilizó su Instagram el viernes por la noche para subir una reacción corta, pero concisa de las noticias sobre Pac, a saber, el hecho de que Duane 'Keefe D' Davis fue detenido y acusado de asesinato en relación con el caso que sigue abierto en Las Vegas y que se había ido enfriando con los años.

Jada escribe: "Ahora espero que podamos obtener algunas respuestas y tener algún cierre. Que en paz descanses, Pac".

Como hemos dicho, es un mensaje bastante simple de su parte, pero muy significativo, teniendo en cuenta lo mucho que Tupac significaba para Jada y cuán seguido se refiere a él, incluso hasta el día de hoy.

Muchos están familiarizados con la historia de Jada con Pac. Ambos eran muy amigos en los años 80 y 90, época en la que crecieron juntos y se enredaron en la edad adulta.

Jada ha insistido durante mucho tiempo que nunca fue una relación romántica, pero algunos especulan que podría no ser así. De nuevo, ella ha hablado largo y tendido sobre él y recordado su relación públicamente, a tal punto que algunos han levantado una ceja, especialmente después de la bofetada.

El punto es que Tupac, obviamente, significa mucho para Jada y que ella parece aliviada de que este capítulo podría estar llegando a su fin después de años de misterio e intriga.

Como informamos, Keefe D fue acusado de un cargo de asesinato abierto esta semana, solo un par de meses después de la aplicación de la ley que allanó su casa de Las Vegas, como ejecución de una orden de registro.

Jada Pinkett Smith is one of many who are happy to have somebody being held to account over the murder of Tupac Shakur -- and she made it known to her millions of followers.

The actress took to Instagram Friday night with a short but concise reaction to the Pac news -- namely, the fact that Duane 'Keefe D' Davis was arrested and charged with murder in connection to the open case out of Las Vegas ... which had seemingly gone cold for years.

JPS writes, "Now I hope we can get some answers and have some closure. R.I.P. Pac."

Like we said ... a fairly simple message on her part, but it's quite meaningful considering how much Tupac meant to Jada -- and how often she references him, even today.

Many are familiar with Jada's history with Pac ... they go way back, and were very close friends back in the '80s and '90s when they grew up together and mingled into adulthood.

Jada has long insisted they were never romantic, but some speculate that might not be the case ... again, she's spoken at length about him and has reminisced about their relationship publicly, to the point some have raised an eyebrow in retrospect -- especially post-slap.

That's neither here nor there ... point is, Tupac obviously means a lot to Jada -- and she seems relieved this chapter might be coming to a close after years of mystery/intrigue.

As we reported ... Keefe D was indicted on an open murder charge this week, just a couple months after law enforcement raided his Vegas-area home upon executing a search warrant.

Sean Penn arremetió contra Will Smith y los Oscar, al preguntarse por qué él tuvo que ir a la cárcel por agresión mientras que Smith solo recibió aplausos tras abofetear a Chris Rock.

Penn todavía está molesto porque a Volodymyr Zelensky no se le permitió participar en la ceremonia de los Oscar de 2022.

El actor dijo enfadado a Variety: "El productor de los Oscar pensó: 'Oh, él [Zelensky] no es lo suficientemente divertido'. Bueno, ¿adivinen qué tienen en su lugar? ¡Will Smith!. No conozco a Will Smith. Lo vi una vez. Parecía muy agradable cuando lo conocí. Estuvo tan jodidamente bien en "Rey Richard".

Y entonces, dio el puñetazo: "¿Por qué mierda te escupiste a ti mismo y a todos los demás con esa estupidez? ¿Por qué fui a la puta cárcel por lo que tú mismo hiciste? ¿Y tú sigues ahí sentado? ¿Por qué todos están de pie y aplaudiendo su peor momento como persona?".

Penn se está refiriendo a su condena de 1987 por agredir a un extra en el plató de "Colors", por la cual estuvo 33 días en la cárcel.

Sean cree que si Zelensky hubiera estado en los Oscar, el tono habría sido diferente y Smith no se habría atrevido a cruzar esa línea. "Esta mierda no habría ocurrido con Zelensky. Will Smith nunca habría abandonado su silla para ser parte de esa violencia estúpida. Esto nunca habría ocurrido".

Sean se angustió tanto con la situación que tuvo ganas de destruir sus Oscars: "Pensé, bueno, a la mierda, ¿sabes? Se los daré a Ucrania. Se pueden fundir en balas que pueden disparar a los rusos".

Penn acabó entregando a Zelensky sus propios Oscar durante una visita en noviembre de 2022. A cambio, Penn recibió de parte de Zelensky la Orden del Mérito.

Sean Penn went nuclear on Will Smith and the Oscars, wondering why he went to jail for assault while Smith got nothing but applause after assaulting Chris Rock.

Penn is still hot under the collar that Volodymyr Zelensky was not allowed to appear at the 2022 Oscars ceremony.

Penn angrily told Variety ... “The Oscars producer thought, ‘Oh, he’s [Zelensky's] not light-hearted enough.’ Well, guess what you got instead? Will Smith!. I don’t know Will Smith. I met him once. He seemed very nice when I met him. He was so f***ing good in ‘King Richard."

And then, Sean delivered the punch ...  "So why the f*** did you just spit on yourself and everybody else with this stupid f***ing thing? Why did I go to f***ing jail for what you just did? And you’re still sitting there? Why are you guys standing and applauding his worst moment as a person?”

Penn is referring to his 1987 conviction for attacking an extra on the set of "Colors," for which he served 33 days in jail.

Sean thinks had Zelensky appeared at the Oscars, the tone would have been different and Smith wouldn't have dared to cross the line ...“This f***ing bulls*** wouldn’t have happened with Zelensky. Will Smith would never have left that chair to be part of stupid violence. It never would have happened.”

Sean was so distraught, he wanted to destroy his Oscars, saying "I thought, well, f*** it, you know? I'll give them to Ukraine. They can be melted down to bullets they can shoot at the Russians."

Penn ended up presenting Zelensky with his own Oscars while on a visit in November 2022. In turn, Penn was presented with the Order of Merit by Zelensky.

Quinton Aaron -- the man who played Michael Oher in "The Blind Side" -- is furious with those clamoring for Sandra Bullock to lose her Oscar over the new Oher drama ... telling TMZ Sports the actress has absolutely nothing to do with any of it.

The cry for Bullock to be stripped of the award gained steam on X on Tuesday ... with a bunch of users on the app saying following Oher's claims that Leigh Anne Tuohy lied to him and exploited him -- the woman who played her in "The Blind Side" should now face punishment.

As crazy as the opinion sounds -- the cries grew louder and louder throughout the day ... but Aaron told us he hopes all of that dies down quickly.

"To make a statement like that doesn't make any sense," Aaron said. "Sandra Bullock didn't have anything to do with the real story that we're reading as of right now."

Of course, Bullock earned the honor back in 2010 ... after she played the role of Aaron's fictitious mom in the 2009 hit flick. And, Aaron says she couldn't have been more deserving of the praise at the time.

"She gave a brilliant performance," Aaron said. "And that shouldn't be tarnished for something that had nothing to do with her."

Aaron also spoke with us about all of the new allegations surrounding the Tuohys ... and while he said he hasn't talked to them since the movie came out, he didn't get a vibe that anything nefarious was happening with regards to their relationship with Oher.

"I got a good sense from all of them," he said. "They were real cool to me."

As for where things stand now with the Tuohys and Oher ... it's all gotten super ugly, as the family has now accused the former football player of trying to shake them down for $15 million.

Twitter is home to a lot of ridiculous opinions, but the latest trend involving Sandra Bullock might be the app's worst ... users are calling for her to lose her Oscar on the heels of "The Blind Side" controversy.

It's about as crazy as it sounds, especially since there's zero evidence Bullock -- who played Leigh Anne Tuohy in the movie -- had any clue of the drama behind the scenes with Michael Oher and the Tuohy family.

One user wrote, "So Sandra Bullock should have to give back her Oscar right, and man do we need to start checking these good feeling stories. The parents blocked $300 in earnings the movie from him getting any of it and gave the money to their real children? WOOOOOOOW!"

Another says, "If the Michael Oher allegations are true then we have to go AND TAKE THE OSCAR back from Sandra Bullock and give it to Gabourey Sidibe for 'Precious'" and "Sandra Bullock should give her Oscar back. She knows she didn't deserve that s***."

However, there's also people coming to her defense, writing, "Not y'all calling for Sandra Bullock's Oscar to be revoked. It ain't her fault the real life people were exploitative scammers and thieves," and "You know Sandra Bullock deserved her Oscar because she acted so well, she made the Tuohy family likeable."

As we reported, the former NFL star claims the Tuohy family never adopted him -- as the movie suggests -- but he was instead placed under a conservatorship. Oher claims the family made a ton of cash off his life story in "The Blind Side," while he got nothing.

Sean Tuohy is calling BS on Oher, saying the family's only option to legally make him part of their family was a conservatorship -- as he was over 18 -- and each family member made about $14,000 from the movie ... including Oher.

We covered it all on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Coco Lee, famous for voicing Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney's "Mulan," has died by suicide.

Coco's sisters, Carol and Nancy, say she attempted suicide at home Sunday and was sent to a hospital, where she slipped into a coma and died on Wednesday despite attempts to save her life.

Coco suffered from depression for years, her family says, and she sought professional help ... but her condition drastically deteriorated over the last few months and she ultimately took her own life.

In addition to her work with Disney, Coco performed an Oscar-nominated song, "A Love Before Time," in the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" as part of a three-decade career as a singer.

Coco was born in Hong Kong but attended middle school and high school in San Francisco, where she was crowned 1991's Miss Teen Chinatown.

She was the first Chinese singer to go big in America, with her song "Do You Want My Love" reaching No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Dance Breakout chart way back in 1999.

Coco's family is remembering her for working "tirelessly to open up a new world for Chinese singers in the international music scene, and she went all out to shine for the Chinese."

She was 48.

RIP

Actor Frederic Forrest, who costarred with Bette Midler in the highly acclaimed film, "The Rose," has died.

Midler announced Forrest passed away Friday night, tweeting ... "The great and beloved Frederic Forrest has died. Thank you to all of his fans and friends for all their support these last few months."

She continued ... "He was a remarkable actor, and a brilliant human being, and I was lucky to have him in my life. He was at peace."

Forrest's cause of death was not disclosed.

The Oscar-nominated actor first hit it big in 1979 when he scored the part of Jay "Chef" Hicks in the Francis Ford Coppola war movie classic, "Apocalypse Now."

That same year, Forrest was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dyer in "The Rose."

He went on to perform in dozens of movies throughout the '80's, '90's and early 2000s, including "The Two Jakes," "One From The Heart," and "Falling Down."

Forrest was 86.

It seems like conservatives have just learned the Oscars will be different going forward -- namely, having new inclusivity rules for eligibility ... and, yes, the outrage is in full swing.

Here's the deal ... the Post ran a story citing unnamed Academy voters who are apparently angry about AMPAS's forthcoming rule change for Best Picture contenders. Starting in 2024, there are certain requirements films will have to meet to be considered for the category.

As the article notes ... there are revamped criteria for Best Picture nominees starting next year, not to mention every year after that. Those rules, in a nutshell, include -- 1) having a lead or significant supporting character from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group; 2) having a main storyline that focuses on an underrepresented group; or 3) at least 30% of the cast must come from underrepresented groups (be it ethnic, LGBTQ+, disabled, etc).

There's more to it -- which you can read on AMPAS's site -- but essentially ... this is what the new classification boils down to. Movies have to reflect a diverse melting pot and POVs.

Right on cue, several right-wing media/Twitter personalities jumped on this news (which isn't actually new, but more on that later) and started to accuse the Academy of going "woke."

One such dude, Darren Grimes, writes ... "So it's no longer Best Picture then. It's now the film that appeases diversity tsars the most that wins. Award ceremonies are meaningless, Hollywood has slaughtered them on the altar of woke." Clearly, he isn't on board.

Another conservative figure, Charlie Kirk, reflected this position himself ... "Under new rules for the Academy Awards, no film can win Best Picture unless it hits arbitrary diversity quotas. Under this rule, The Godfather, Lord of the Rings, or Saving Private Ryan would all be ineligible.  This is what they mean by 'diversity' but it’s the opposite of diversity. They want a uniform, politically correct monoculture devoid of any creativity or free expression."

If you hop into the 'Best Picture' trend that's on Twitter right now ... you'll see more takes like this -- anger, indignation, outrage ... and on and on. Strangely enough, word of these changes have been reported on for a few years now ... so everyone's late to the party here.

As to their point about former Best Picture winners not being eligible under these new guidelines -- yes, that is technically correct. Whether that helps or hurts the film industry, at large, though is certainly debatable ... and we're sure this convo will continue as we get closer to the 2024 award show. Ya gotta figure ... AMPAS's heart is in the right place here.

BTW, a few notable celebs have actually sounded off on this issue too of late -- including one Richard Dreyfuss ... who was recently asked about it on a PBS-ran program.

The guy didn't bite his tongue on how he felt -- however if you listen to his response closely ... it becomes clear he either misunderstood the question or conflated it with another topic in Hollywood ... namely, accurate casting. In any case -- RD isn't a fan of this either.

Cynthia Weil, one of the most prolific and successful songwriters of all time, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Cynthia's daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, tells TMZ ... "My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for. She was my best friend, confidant, and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music."

Jenn says her mother, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, passed on Thursday night.

Cynthia's catalog is eyepopping ... The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin," Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again," The Drifters' and George Benson's "On Broadway," The Crystals' "Uptown," The Righteous Brothers' "You're My Soul and Inspiration," The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of this Place."

The list just keeps going, with Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Kicks," The Ronettes' "Walking in the Rain," Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire," which Kanye West sampled for his debut solo single, "Through the Wire" ... and that's a VERY short list of the hits she wrote.

Cynthia's writing partner for many of her hits was her husband, Barry Mann. They were married for 62 years.

They were nominated for an Academy Award and won 2 Grammys for Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram's "Somewhere Out There" from Steven Spielberg's "An American Tail."

She and Barry received the first-ever National Academy of Songwriters Life Achievement Award.

In her early years, Cynthia was an actress, singer and dancer and became a protégé of Tin Pan Alley songwriter Frank Loesser.

Cynthia and Barry had massive hits in the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s.

She worked with other collaborators to produce hits like "Running With The Night" and "Love Will Conquer All" with Lionel Richie. She also worked with David Foster for the soundtrack to "St. Elmo's Fire," including the hit, "For Just a Moment." And then, there's Peabo Bryson's "If Ever You're In My Arms Again,” and "He's So Shy" by The Pointer Sisters.

BTW ... "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" was the most played song of the 20th Century!

Cynthia received 112 pop, country and R&B awards from BMI.

Cynthia and Barry produced another big hit ... their daughter, Jenn Mann, AKA Dr. Jenn, a psychotherapist, author, and host of VH1's "Couple's Therapy." Jenn and her fiance Eric Schiffer were by Cynthia's side when she passed.

The family adds, "Cynthia Weil's Grammy award winning lyrics touched the hearts and souls of hundreds of millions of people around the world, making her one of the most iconic songwriters of the 20th Century. Her husband, Barry Mann, says, "I'm a lucky man. I had two for one, my wife and one of the greatest songwriters in the world, my soul and inspiration."

Cynthia was 82.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are bringing some scarily realistic-looking action to an Atlanta neighborhood, where cameras were rolling for a violent scene from "Bad Boys 4."

TMZ obtained this footage recorded from a building next to the ATL parking lot where the cast and crew worked on a shoot-out sequence for the upcoming sequel.

As you can see, it's action-packed ... with Will and Martin, AKA Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Miles Burnett, respectively -- at the center of it all.

The movie's leading men are walking through the lot when they get ambushed with a hail of gunfire .. and try to take cover while firing back at the bad guys.

While at least 2 of their fellow cops get taken out in the violence ... Martin and Will appear to survive the action.

Hey, they are the stars of the blockbuster franchise, after all!

Remember, we first saw them filming a scene last week in Atlanta, and they were fully in character ... with Will talking Martin off an 8-story ledge as he stood on the edge wearing a hospital gown.

Spoiler alert: They both survive this scene too. 😂

This 4th installment of the franchise is due in theaters next year, and the OG 'Bad Boys' came out way back in 1995.

Yeah, these guys have been at it for nearly 30 years, but they're not yet shying away from filming some of their action-packed scenes.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back in action ... and we have the first images of the famous duo filming together for their upcoming 'Bad Boys' flick.

The actors were spotted Wednesday in Atlanta shooting a scene for "Bad Boys 4" ... and, the guys are fully in character -- Will as Det. Mike Lowrey and Martin as Marcus Miles Burnett.

As you can see, they were right in the thick of all the action ... it appears Will's character was talking Martin off an 8-story ledge, as he stood near the edge wearing a hospital gown.

You'll recall we saw Will on set of the new film, last month, but this is the first time we've seen him and Martin together in front of the cameras.

Will's fully back into the swing of his movie career since he infamously slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. While Smith is banned from attending the award show for 10 years ... it's not impacting his appeal as an A-list draw for Hollywood blockbusters.

This will be the 4th installment of their 'Bad Boys' franchise, which started way back in '95.

Richard Dreyfuss says the new rules mandating inclusivity for future Oscar nominations make him wanna barf -- and we mean that literally ... 'cause the dude says so himself.

The legendary actor, who's an Academy Award winner himself, made some eye-opening comments in a recent interview on PBS's 'Fine Line with Margaret Hoover' -- where she asked him what he made of these new rules that are going into effect next year.

Those new guidelines state that any Best Picture nominees must hire a certain percentage of talent (either onscreen or in the crew) from underrepresented minority groups in order to be considered eligible, among other criteria to achieve more representation at the Oscars.

Welp, RD didn't bite his tongue ... he says that whole idea makes him sick -- and when asked why ... he goes on this somewhat incoherent rant about artistry and sparing feelings.

He then goes on to talk about the role of Othello, and he says the last white actor to play the Shakespearean character was Laurence Olivier -- who did it in blackface ... something he seems to lament being over and done with. Dreyfuss says LO portrayed Othello brilliantly.

Roman Polanski and his child rape victim, who's now an adult, are telegraphing just how tight they are now by posing for a very cheery photo ... almost 50 years after he drugged and molested her.

The infamous director posed with Samantha Geimer in a pic that was shared over the weekend by his wife, Emmanuelle Seigner ... who actually interviewed Geimer in a piece that ran in the French publication Le Point, where Geimer says she's over the whole saga.

In the article, Geimer said Polanksi has "paid his debt to society." She also says the encounter with Polanski in '77 -- when she was just 13 -- was "never a big problem" for her, and she laments it dragging on as a scandal for this long.

This is something Geimer has repeated publicly for quite a while now -- however, she did sue Polanski over the rape back in the '90s, which was reportedly settled out of court.

In the years that followed, Geimer has said the rape doesn't define her ... nor does she think Polanski should continue to be dogged over it, let alone be wanted by the authorities here in the States. He's attempted to get the fugitive warrant revoked, but it hasn't worked out.

As you might know ... Polanski pled guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor at the time, but fled the country before he could be sentenced, and has never returned. He has won Oscars since then, though.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who infamously survived a nerve agent 3 years ago, has reportedly fallen ill while behind bars ... and some on his team believe he's slowly being poisoned to death.

The Vladimir Putin nemesis was met with an ambulance over the weekend due to stomach pains, but his lawyer Vadim Kobzez tweeted that there was no diagnosis given after medics assessed him.

Anna Veduta, Vice President of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, told The Associated Press, "We believe he is slowly being administered low doses of poison” due to unidentified pills he's been given.

Veduta added ... Navalny lost 18 pounds in 15 days, and first became ill last week when he was let out of a punishment cell and into a regular one. He's reportedly been moved back into a punishment cell for 15 more days for unknown reasons.

Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokesperson, echoed the potential poisoning claims ... saying, "We do not rule out that all this time in prison he could have been poisoned with something to make his health deteriorate slowly but steadily."

As you know, the documentary "Navalny" won the Oscar for Best Documentary this year -- it followed the freedom fighter and former lawyer pushing back against Vladimir Putin and political corruption in Russia.

One of the frightening moments in the doc showed a near-fatal poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent in 2020 ... an incident for which Navalny squarely blames Putin.