BFFs

The man formerly known as Kanye West appears to be trying to fit in as much travel time as he can before year's end ... most recently hitting Belize with his good buddy J Prince.

Ye touched down in Central America Wednesday, and was pictured at the Philip S.W Goldson International Airport posing with Prince. Unclear if Kanye's there for work, pleasure or both ... but J Prince owns an island down there, so there should be plenty of space to relax.

It's unclear if Ye and J arrived together, or if Kanye flew out to meet his friend, but the two have certainly collabed a lot lately.

Remember, it was J Prince who played a pivotal part in bringing Kanye and Drake together for the Free Larry Hoover show in Los Angeles earlier this month. The show was a huge success, bringing over 70,000 people to the L.A. Coliseum and bringing the rappers together as friends again.

No word on if Drake has any plans to hit Belize, but obviously another reunion is no longer out of the question.

Simon Cowell quietly tried to save the life of Il Divo singer Carlos Marin ... by offering him a private jet so he could get treatment for COVID.

Simon's not the person who made this public ... it was Carlos' wife, Geraldine Larrosa, who told a Spanish outlet, "Simon personally phoned the hospital and offered to help with anything."

Geraldine says Simon offered to fly Carlos to Spain for some sort of treatment ... treatment that presumably was not available at Manchester Royal Hospital where he was fighting for his life.

Carlos' case was so severe, he had to be intubated. He died on December 19 at the age of 53.

Oprah knows how to celebrate the birth of a child ... with a pretty awesome chant right out of "The Lion King!"

Oprah, Stedman and various loved ones perched themselves on the front porch of her Montecito estate to welcome Gayle King's 3-month-old grandson, Luca. Among the chants ... right from the opening song of "Lion King" ... "The Circle of Life."

As the group stretched their vocal cords, Gayle's daughter, Kirby Bumpus, and her hubby Virgil Miller walked a long stretch with the infant and then presented him to O.

You hear Oprah greet the kid ... "I know you've been waiting. You've been waiting to see me. I've been waiting to see you." She kisses Luca on the hand with glee.

Gayle, curiously, was absent. All Oprah said was her BFF didn't meet all the rules for her COVID Xmas. Oprah said, "Everyone who is spending Christmas at my house has to be vaccinated, boosted, tested, and quarantined." It's unclear on which element Gayle fell short.

It looks like Gayle will be there belatedly, because Oprah said, "This was release day for our bubble and we knew we had to throw a welcome celebration for Baby Luca, who none of us had met yet!" Then she added ... "missed his grandma @gayleking but she'll join us once she completes the policy!"

James Franco is speaking out at length for the first time since a wave of sexual misconduct allegations were leveled against him -- saying he's spent the last few years working on himself -- and making one thing clear ... he's still got love for Seth Rogen.

Franco spoke with SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Podcast" Wednesday, and talked everything from the allegations to his career and his fallout with Rogen.

If you hadn't heard ... Seth said in an interview this year he had no plans to work with Franco in light of the allegations made against his former friend. To that, James told Jess, "Of course, it was hurtful in context, but I get it, you know, he had to answer for me cause I was silent."

Rogen's comments seemed to really sit with Franco, given how close the two were, "We didn't have one fight for 20 years. Not one fight. He was my absolute closest work friend, collaborator."

While the pair don't have any projects lined up for the future, they've starred in massive movies together, including "Pineapple Express," "The Interview," "Sausage Party" and "The Disaster Artist."

If Kanye West and Drake performing together wasn't enough evidence that they've truly buried the hatchet -- take a look at this ... definitive proof they're pals again.

Here's Ye and Drizzy during Thursday night's show -- but in a way we hadn't seen them before ... namely, up close and personal. As you can see they couldn't be happier in one another's presence, grinning from ear to ear and leaving the Coliseum shoulder to shoulder.

Of course, we saw these two have a ball during the actual event -- but frankly, the view (be it in person, or even on Amazon) wasn't this good ... and it's clear from these photos that Drake and Kanye are genuinely past their beef.

As we reported ... it was mostly Kanye's show, as he carried a majority of the set with hits new and old. Drake came out and performed too ... albeit for a much shorter time.

It was pretty neat -- Drake performed some of Kanye's songs, and vice-versa ... making for the ultimate crossover experience for fans. Speaking of them, the place was absolutely packed to the gills ... and word is, getting in and out of the area that night was nuts.

Kanye West and Drake made the once seemingly impossible a reality ... hitting the stage together, playing their hits (both old and new) and even performing the other's songs.

70,000 people piled into the L.A. Memorial Coliseum Thursday to see the "Free Larry Hoover" benefit show. Kanye and Drake danced, rapped and hugged it out on top of a giant mound in the middle of what is usually a football field.

The show started out with Kanye's Sunday Service choir performing from the stands, and both Drake and Kanye walking down the stairs and to the middle of the floor.

From there, it was a myriad of the superstar's hits -- both old and new -- for close to 2 hours. The guest list felt like an award show, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Lizzo, Devin Booker, Megan Fox, MGK, Offset and Drake's dad, Dennis Graham.

Most surprisingly, Kanye played his older, much less religion-based songs like "Can't Tell Me Nothing," "Gold Digger" and "Touch The Sky."

Drake, of course, played some of his biggest songs as well as a good mix from his "Certified Lover Boy" album including "Knife Talk" and "No Friends in the Industry." He also shared some nice words about Ye, saying, “When we were walking through the archway it felt surreal, to be on stage with one of my idols as he runs through his catalog.”

The show, first scheduled to start at 8, didn't go on until about 9:30 ... but traffic and logistics issues seemed to be the cause of that, with cars backed up for more than an hour just trying to get into the venue.

These "Friends" stars are really taking the whole friends thing seriously, because 3 of them hung out together to celebrate the 4th.

Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow all presumably shared food and drink Sunday.

Laura Dern got in on the action as well ... posing for a pic with Courteney. The 2 collabed together back in 2008 on the short film, "The Monday Before Thanksgiving."

"Friends," one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. It chronicled the lives of 6 friends, their adventures, relationship, career struggles, and so on in a comedic way.

Courteney and Jen have been super close since the show wrapped in 2004, and Lisa's also been with them from time to time. Maybe the 4th soiree was inspired by the reunion special last May, when all 6 of them got together for an HBO special.

Pete Davidson says Timothee Chalamet has the best of both worlds -- talent and good looks -- and he finds it pretty annoying ... because Pete's not sure he has either.

The "Saturday Night Live" star joked about his pal while chatting with Gold Derby, but he mostly heaped praise on the "Call Me By Your Name" star ... calling him a genuinely nice and charming fella.

Pete says the 2 sorta knew each other through a mutual friend, but grew closer when Timothee hosted an ep of 'SNL' this past season ... and they worked together on multiple sketches.

As for 'SNL' ... Davidson hinted it might be the end of the line for him. He says this past season's finale was emotional because he doesn't know what the plan is going forward -- he says it's all "up in the air" -- but it certainly sounds like he's not quite ready to leave.

Matt Damon tried his damnedest not to talk about Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez but like all good BFFs ... he couldn't help himself and spilled the beans.

Matt appeared on "TODAY" show Tuesday from Australia and there was no avoiding it ... the subject, of course, his boy Ben appearing to rekindle his relationship with J Lo. Matty first tried to play coy ... saying there wasn't enough liquor in the world to get him to talk about it. But then, he did ... and told the world exactly how he feels.

In a nutshell ... Matt says he hopes it's true. Well, it sure looks that way.

TMZ broke the story ... J Lo and Ben took a trip to Montana this past weekend. They left Sunday, and when they arrived at LAX they hopped in an SUV together and drove to her Bel-Air home.

And, as we first reported, we come to find out Ben had been flooding J Lo with emails since February. The emails, BTW, weren't just friendly. We were told they were more loving and longing for Jen.

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are showing signs that they're back together ... grabbing dinner at a celeb hot spot with famous friends and family.

Stormi's parents did a triple date night Sunday at West Hollywood hot spot, Catch LA, with Justin & Hailey Bieber and Kendall and her NBA star boyfriend, Devin Booker.

The 6-some all brought their own sense of fashion and style -- with JB still proudly rocking yet another new hairdo -- but Kylie was the only one who managed to duck the photogs all night. She's a pro!

We know she was there for the triple date, though, which only fuels speculation she's back together with Trav ... something that really kicked up a notch when she flew to Miami last weekend to celebrate his birthday with him.

You don't do fancy dinner dates with other happy couples unless you are feeling those same vibes yourself, right???

Antonio Brown is opening up on his bromance with Tom Brady ... praising the QB for not only helping him be great on the field -- but off it as well.

AB made his official return to the practice field with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday ... and spoke at length with reporters about his relationship with TB12.

"Tom is my boy," Brown -- sporting a TB12 hat -- said after practice. "One of the greatest leaders to be around. He’s encouraging, always inspiring. He brings out the best out of people around him. He wants the best for everyone around him."

As we previously reported ... Brady invited AB to live with him in Derek Jeter's mansion after inking his one-year deal earlier this week ... and even got him in touch with Tony Robbins.

While Brady inviting AB to live with him could be considered questionable to some -- given his rape and sexual misconduct allegations (which Brown denies) -- the receiver makes it clear the mansion is a judgment-free zone.

"Nothing that I’ve done in the past matters," AB added. "He’s always getting better, day in and day out. And I just learn a lot from him -- how he trains, how he takes care of himself professionally, his discipline, his work ethic, his approach."

Reds star Trevor Bauer is taking his support for Joe Kelly to his feet ... rockin' "Free Joe Kelly" cleats for Cincy's game Wednesday -- and the tribute is pretty amazing!!

As we previously reported, Kelly is set to undergo a 5-game suspension as soon as he comes off the Dodgers' injured list ... and it's all because MLB says he threw at cheating Houston Astros players last month.

But, dozens of guys in The Show -- including Kelly himself -- think it's all BS ... saying Joe didn't actually hit anybody, and he really wasn't involved in the near brawl on the field either.

Enter, Bauer ... who hates the Astros so much and is so firmly in Kelly's corner on the situation -- he had custom Joe Kelly cleats made for his start against the K.C. Royals!!!

TB showed off the footwear just hours before he took the bump ... and on the left shoe, Bauer had Kelly's infamous mocking face painted over the Nike swoosh.

On the right shoe, Bauer had the words "Free Joe Kelly" scribbled over the emblem.

"FREE JOE KELLY!" Bauer said along with the cleat announcement.

Trevor's support for Joe went one step even further ... the Cincy ace also made shirts for Kelly -- and says the proceeds from the tees will go to a charity of Joe's choice.

How's that for a pitching brotherhood?!?!

Andrew Yang is a big fan of Sen. Kamala Harris as a candidate, but more importantly, as a person ... and says they bonded early, when he was a political unknown.

The former presidential candidate joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and heaped tons of praise on Joe Biden's running mate, telling us what separated Kamala from the pack.

Andrew says he first met Kamala early on in the Democratic primaries and they forged an instant bond on a number of non-political issues they have in common.

He added ... there was something else about the VP candidate that really impressed him. Andrew says Kamala was always warm and friendly, which stood out to him because no one knew who the hell he was early in the Democratic primary races.

Andrew says that taught him a lot about his then-opponent's character, which is why he thinks Kamala makes a great veep.

Andrew's ready to go to bat for Biden and Harris at next week's Democratic National Convention, and broke some news about the event.

Kanye West has a steady stream of close friends showing up in Wyoming -- the latest being Damon Dash, who he took for an essential items shopping trip.

It appears Dame arrived at Ranch West sometime Wednesday, and the duo hit up the Walmart in nearby Cody ... wearing face masks to enter, as required.

The hip-hop superstars weren't exactly trying to stay incognito -- once outside they removed their masks and sat on a bench for a bit talking.

Of course, these 2 go way back to their Roc-A-Fella Records days, and it seems Dame flew in to check on Ye ... on the heels of his Monday and Tuesday night Twitter attacks against his wife and mother-in-law.

Dash posted a pic of Kanye, himself and a few others touring the ranch grounds with the caption, "We good."

Remember, on Tuesday morning it was Dave Chappelle who dropped in at the ranch and certainly seemed to lift Yeezy's spirits ... at least for a while.

Kanye is reportedly working on new music while he's in Wyoming, so it's possible Dame came by for that too -- but we know family and friends have been concerned about his mental health since the Sunday rally in South Carolina.

Kim Kardashian's made it clear her husband is in the grips of a bipolar episode and adds, "Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions."

Vanessa Bryant wished the happiest of birthdays to Pau Gasol on Monday ... penning an emotional note to Kobe's ex-teammate and good friend that'll bring a tear to your eye.

Vanessa shared adorable pics of the 7-foot NBA legend with her daughters ... writing, "Happy 40th birthday uncle Pau! We ❤️you. Love, The Bryant Girls."

The photos of Gasol with the Bryant sisters were heartwarming ... they showed off Pau sweetly hanging with Kobe's family.

Vanessa added in her birthday message to the former Lakers center, "I know Kobe would say, 'Happy 40th birthday Pablo! Love you, Hermano'. ❤️"

Of course, Kobe and Pau built a hell of a relationship after they joined forces in L.A. back in the 2007-08 season ... they won 2 championships together and became lifelong friends.

In fact, since Kobe and his daughter, Gigi, tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in January ... Pau's often been involved with Kobe's family in some way.

Pau sent Vanessa a "Gigi" cake on what would have been her 14th birthday back in May, and has dedicated several social media posts to the Mamba and the Mambacita.

In one of the messages, just hours after learning of Kobe's death ... Pau wrote, "I will be heartbroken for a long time, but I will forever be thankful for having had shared so much together."

IT'S NOT SHOW FRIENDS, IT'S SHOW BUSINESS!!

That's how UFC star Gilbert Burns feels about his teammate Kamaru Usman -- telling TMZ Sports he wants to fight his pal for the title, ASAP.

Of course, 33-year-old Burns just defeated former champ Tyron Woodley on Saturday -- and he's now the #1 ranked welterweight contender.

And, since Usman is the reigning champ -- seems that fight is bound to happen.

The only issue ... Burns and Usman share a manager (Ali Abdelaziz) and train together. They're friends.

So, would you be willing to fight your buddy for a shot at the belt?

Burns says for him ... it's a no-brainer.

"I know his family. I know the guy a lot," Burns says ... "but I want to be the champion too."

"We're professionals. It's not going to be drama, I'm not gonna talk sh*t to the guy ... I just want to be the best and that's it."

Burns is currently on a 5-fight win streak -- with victories over stars like Woodley, Damien Maia and Gunnar Nelson.

Usman hasn't lost since 2013 -- most recently beating up Colby Covington at UFC 245 back in December.

Burns says money's no object -- he's reasonable -- and he's calling on Dana White to put it together.

"I'm available, I'm hungry. And I want to fight for the title next."