Celebrity Feuds

Logic's recent cover of Ice Cube's iconic track, "It Was A Good Day," was universally panned, and Joe Budden feels it's a sign 'o the times ... for Logic to officially join him in permanent rap retirement!!!

Budden went in on the Maryland-born rapper on a recent episode of his podcast "The Joe Budden Podcast" ... urging him to never promise his fans another record because his music is now "really, really bad!!!"

JB admitted he enjoyed ribbing Logic from time to time in the past, but admits he's soured on him since his 2017 suicide awareness track "1-800-273-8255" -- but, he says turning Cube's classic into a folk song is an unforgivable hip hop infraction.

Budden also accused Logic of pandering to the Black community for years due to his own identity crisis. That being said, it can all be forgotten ... as long as Logic tosses his mic!!! 😭

Tony Yayo isn't vibing with Lil Uzi Vert's recent performance where he chanted he "made a City Girl" believe in Satan -- in fact, Tony doesn't even wanna touch the topic with a 10-foot pole!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught the G-Unit rap star Tuesday in NYC, and he thinks Uzi took things too far during his Rolling Loud California set ... and really didn't have advice for Uzi's girlfriend, JT of City Girls, about whether she should run for the hills.

Yayo tells us he grew up in the church, so he's allergic to all things Satanic ... a stark contrast to the strong critique R&B superstar Summer Walker leveled at Uzi.

Summer questioned whether he's actually the devil's advocate, or just following the trend in rap that pumps up "demons" at every turn.

Donnell Rawlings says there are no winners in the Chris Rock and Will Smith beef ... and he's hoping Chris' recent response will finally put an end to the saga.

We got Donnell at Gelson's Tuesday and asked him about Chris finally addressing the Oscars slap in his Netflix special, which Donnell says should even the score.

Donnell, who is super close with Chris, is slamming the folks who didn't like the way Chris joked about the incident ... claiming it was old news by now. He says no one has the right to put a timeline or restrictions on how comedians can respond.

Of course, some folks are pissed at Chris ... like The Root senior writer Candace McDuffie, who feels Chris had the slap coming to him following years of jokes she feels targeted Black women like Jada Pinkett Smith.

Donnell thinks anyone who has a problem with Chris' jokes is insane, because as they say ... they're just jokes. He's also not buying the theory jokes incite violence on any particular group.

As for Will, DR says he should be able to take a joke because Chris was able to take the slap.

While Donnell tells us Chris and Will have yet to speak to each other, he's hoping they can both get closure on the matter ... after Chris' verbal "clap back."

Chris Rock can, and should, joke about whoever he wants -- especially after being slapped by Will Smith -- even if some feel it's at Jada Pinkett Smith's expense ... according to 2 fellow comics.

We talked to Bill Bellamy and Jeff Dye Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and both defended CR's right to joke about the sitch, even if he did so somewhat mercilessly during his latest Netflix special ... which is now drawing the ire of some Black women.

Candace McDuffie, a senior writer for The Root, went so far as to suggest Chris actually had the slap coming to him after years of jokes she feels targeted Black women.

That's not how Bill and Jeff feel about it, though ... they're squarely on Chris' side, with BB telling us the dude used his own platform and creativity to address it as best he could, without violence.

Plus, there's the financial benefit -- Netflix paid a boatload for his "Selective Outrage" special.

But, even on the issue of whether Chris has it out for Jada and/or Black women ... Bill says he doesn't believe that to be the case. He says Chris takes shots at everyone, and sometimes certain groups might catch a stray.

It's nothing personal, just the business of being funny ... that's Bill's perspective anyway.

Now, Jeff -- who's hosting our new game show, "Who the Bleep Is That?" -- was a bit more forceful in his repudiation of suggesting Chris deserved what he got ... saying such a notion is insane, and disavowing the idea of anything or anyone being off-limits in comedy.

Chris Rock is set to talk about the Oscars slap tonight in a new comedy special, but some of his material appears to have already leaked ... including a joke about watching Will Smith suffer on film -- which, if the internet is to be believed, he'd be wise in avoiding.

Here's the deal ... we all know Chris' live Netflix show is going down tonight, and everyone's expecting him to discuss the slap at length for the first time, publicly, on his own terms. The problem ... he's been working out his jokes on this topic for months, and one particular bit he recently did about Will was widely reported this week ... and Twitter ain't feeling it.

The Baltimore Sun came out with a story about a comedy show Chris did there in mid-February ... where he reportedly touched on the Oscars and said to the crowd, "The other day, I watched 'Emancipation' just so I could watch him getting whipped."

Of course, he's referring to Will's character from the film -- a runaway slave named "Whipped Peter" who was infamously depicted in a photo from the 1800s with scars on his back.

That quote has made the rounds these past few days, and now ... Chris Rock is trending for all the wrong reasons, because it seems a good majority of folks have turned on him.

Whereas he had sympathy in the wake of the slap -- especially for how he handled it -- a lot of time has passed ... and a lot of people have aired their grievances about Chris since then ... including the notion that he might've had it coming -- harsh, but it's a POV out there.

Now, in light of this new joke that may or may not make the special ... even more people are groaning, especially if he actually works it in. It appears some feel like leaning in the way he seems set to do is overkill -- and not just that, but many feel him exploiting the ugly moment a full year later is cringeworthy. And yet, Chris is powering forward ... as is Netflix.

Time will tell what Chris does onstage. Like we said, this is live -- but if he cares about public opinion (which he usually doesn't) he might wanna peep Twitter right quick.😬

Donald Trump still doesn't have quite the right insult to hurl at his political foe Ron DeSantis -- but according to a new report, he's got a bright idea ... one that's members only.

Bloomberg put out a story detailing what they say is going on behind the scenes at Mar-a-Lago lately -- especially in terms of DT executing his comeback on the campaign trail ... and trying to deal with the Florida Gov.'s growing popularity among conservatives/Republicans.

One of the ways Trump reportedly plans on taking RDS down -- assuming he announces a presidential bid -- is to make fun of him ... and one of the of nicknames he's apparently been kicking around is "Tiny D," among others he and his allies are workshopping.

We already know about "Ron DeSanctimonious" -- not to mention "Meatball Ron," which was also a name Trump reportedly floated of late -- but there are others too!

A couple others that DT and co. are considering ... Ron DisHonest and Ron DeEstablishment. Of course, this follows in Trump's tradition of nicknaming his opponents over the years -- there's Sleepy Joe, Lyin' Ted, Little Marco, Crooked Hillary, Pocahontas, Crazy Bernie, Low Energy Jeb and lots of others. The "D" shot at DeSantis, though, is quite the low blow.

Here's the thing ... the Ron factor could prove tough for Trump if they go head to head, and Team DT is taking it seriously. Bloomberg says Trump's got his people trying to dig up dirt on DeSantis and are already carving out an attack plan, like labeling him a "RINO," etc.

Jordyn Woods is riding with Selena Gomez in a feud that really has nothing to do with her -- well, except for the fact it's Selena vs. Jordyn's ex-BFF, Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber.

Jordyn didn't exactly make a declaration of war, but she did the next best thing when she showed off a lip liner she says she loves -- one from Selena's makeup brand, Rare Beauty.

She followed it up with a closer look at the liner, for anyone who wanted to know the color ... and it's ironically called "Kind Words." The timing of her #TeamSelena post seems pretty obvious the week after Kylie allegedly started beef with SG -- because, as we all know, there's been no love lost between Jordyn and Kylie ever since KJ cut her off back in 2019.

What's hilarious here is that this has all been sparked by that ever-divisive issue ... eyebrows.

ICYMI ... Selena posted on social media last week, showing off her eyebrows that she said she accidentally laminated too much.

Kylie then shared a pic of her own eyebrows the next day, saying "this was an accident?" She followed it up with a screenshot of a FaceTime call with Hailey ... focusing on their brows, of course.

That was enough for fans of all 3 women to read between the brows and start sniping back and forth about who's shading who.

Selena and Hailey's camps were already on the outs because Justin Bieber started dating Hailey -- and the couple got engaged -- shortly after he and Selena called it quits years ago. Although there was an apparent peace treaty between them last year -- it all started coming up again last month when Hailey posted a now-deleted TikTok many thought was calling out Selena.

FYI -- Selena announced she's taking a break from social media last week amid all the noise ... saying she loves who she is while adding, "This is a little silly."

Not silly enough for Jordyn to sit quietly on the sidelines ... as she's now chosen to oppose her friend-turned-nemesis, Kylie.

Lore'l definitely had one of the most awwkwardddd class reunions, thanks to Michael B. Jordan's cold shoulder -- but she tells TMZ Hip Hop the online reaction's been even worse than that "Creed III" premiere moment.

We spoke to "The Morning Hustle" host in the aftermath of her viral MBJ incident, and she untangled a lot of misconceptions coming out of their interview, which has made her the target of tons of vile DMs.

Lore'l admits Michael's name was fodder for jokes among 7th-grade students in Newark -- after all, that was Michael "Air" Jordan's heyday -- but she points out she and Michael were only classmates at Chad Science Academy for one year before she moved.

That's why she says the narrative she tormented MBJ throughout high school is pure 🧢.

She also blames misleading headlines stemming from her 2021 podcast where her cohost Dominique Da Diva referred to Mike as "corny" -- that's the comment the Internet jumbled with Lore'l's own back-in-the-day school stories.

BTW, when Lore'l switched schools she ended up being classmates with singers Rotimi and SZA ... who she just saw when her "SOS" tour stopped in D.C., and their reunion went much smoother than the MBJ one!

The Internet thinks Selena Gomez has been in a 'Mean Girls' tiff with Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner -- causing her to temporarily shut down her social media ... but it doesn't seem to have affected her mood in real life ... a really good one, it would appear.

The actress/singer was all smiles Tuesday while on the set for her hit Hulu show 'Only Murders in the Building' -- where she was seen coming out of her trailer in Manhattan with adoring fans on hand who were dying for selfies ... something SG was happy to oblige.

She looks pretty radiant here, and that's significant ... because for the past 4-5 days or so, she and her ex-BF's now-wife (Hailey) appear to have been trading barbs online -- with none other than Kylie getting in on it, who appears to be on Hailey's side in a war of pettiness.

Here's the deal ... Selena posted a goofy video last week  showing off her eyebrows, where she said she'd over-laminated, this in an attempt to praise Bella Hadid ... whom she was sorta over-gushing about. Kylie appeared to have responded shortly thereafter ... with this.

KJ threw up a photo of her face -- with a caption reading, "this was an accident???" next to her eyebrows, which many took as a shot at Selena in, perhaps, being attention-seeking.

After that, Kylie posted yet another photo ... this time showing a screengrab of a FT call she was having with Hailey -- and both of them focusing the frame on their eyebrows ... again being perceived as a shot at Selena, only this time with Hailey directly getting in the mix.

The Internet was having a field day -- with TikTokers making tons of analysis videos breaking down the purported feud -- and Kylie finally responded ... saying it was BS, to which Selena also responded in agreement. So, issue resolved ... right??? WRONG! SG wasn't done yet.

It seems Selena had a bit more to say about Hailey in particular ... commenting on an old, resurfaced clip of Hailey making a gagging reaction at the mention of Taylor Swift (Selena's BFF) and Selena responding, "So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game." On the surface, it sounds like she wanted the final word on it all.

Of course, Selena responding just fueled the speculation about bad blood -- a la Justin Bieber and their messy history, etc. -- at which point Selena said she was hitting pause.

Selena took to TikTok in the past couple days to say she was deactivating her social accounts for a bit, adding that she was "too old" for this ... but not really explaining in detail what "this" was. It doesn't take a rocket scientist though -- either she's actually tired of HB/KJ's antics ... and/or the Internet fanning the flames of a possible beef between them.

Pink claims Christina Aguilera wanted to throw hands during the  'Lady Marmalade' shoot -- something she says is ancient history ... but which definitely, allegedly, happened.

The singer spilled the beans to Chris Wallace on his weekly show, 'Who's Talking,' opening up about some apparent tension she says manifested on set when they were filming the music video way back in 2001. According to Pink, Xtina confronted her aggressively.

Watch how she describes it ... Pink says it all started because she was sitting in Christina's chair -- unclear if that means on set or off -- which she claims set Christina off. Supposedly, CA was so angry about this ... she was going to "shut down the entire production."

Pink says it didn't actually get physical right then and there, but did make clear ... she relayed to Christina at the time that she couldn't talk to her like that, period. Funny enough, Chris tells Pink he believes she could've kicked Christina's ass ... and Pink agrees.

As for the perceived shade everyone seems to think Pink is throwing Xtina's way ... Pink addressed that too, saying all she's doing is telling a story back as it happened and as she remembers it. If that truth happens to make someone look bad, so be it ... that's her view.

We should note ... Pink has claimed in the recent past that, in another old incident, Christina allegedly tried swinging on her at a club -- although Christina denied that at the time. As for this latest rehashing, we've already heard Christina also considers it old news/MAAN.

Pink seems to be going on an anti-Christina Aguilera rant these days ... but we're told despite the noise, Christina's got no beef with her fellow singer.

For those unaware, Pink was complaining to BuzzFeed UK about the "Lady Marmalade" music video she shot with Christina back in 2001 -- citing certain "personalities" as the reason for it being no fun, while adding the 2 other performers, Lil Kim and Mya, were nice.

She also went on Howard Stern's show to recall the time when she lost out on the 2002 song, "Beautiful," to Christina ... albeit admitting it was the right call.

A source close to Christina tells TMZ ... she's got no issues with Pink, however -- and has enjoyed their professional time together.

We're told Pink hasn't reached out to Xtina about any recent problem, but she's knee-deep in focusing on touring, so the absence of calls hasn't gotten her nose out of joint.

Sources say Christina just finished a big performance at the 62nd Vina del Mar International Song Festival in Chile, so she hasn't had time to see any of the comments about her.

For the record, Pink's come out and denied she's throwing shade at Christina ... telling fans they're nuts for thinking her "Lady Marmalade" remarks were about her -- even if she did shout out the other 2 singers and notably leave her out.

Don Lemon is on thin ice at CNN -- although he's being welcomed back for now, TMZ has learned he's a strike away from getting the boot permanently, and he knows it.

Sources with direct knowledge about Don's situation tell us ... when the veteran anchor spoke with upper management this week to discuss his sexist comments and the path forward, he was told this was his final warning on such antics.

We're told it was communicated to Don in no uncertain terms ... the next time he insults his cohosts or creates a toxic environment (on or off-air) will be his last with the network.

Of course, we know Don agreed to these terms in addition to signing off on participating in formal training of some sort. The guy's set to return to his job Wednesday, so he's up to speed on all this.

It's interesting Don was given this ultimatum, especially since we've heard from people in his world that he's not happy at CNN -- not at all -- so the uneasiness is mutual.

As for why Don was given such a short leash -- well, the fact is ... he's pretty polarizing. DL's racked up negative headlines (for one reason or another) in recent years, and not just from criticism from people on the right.

There's another factor here too that must be on the minds of CNN Worldwide CEO Chris Licht and co. ... ratings. Not only were Don's numbers for his former primetime slot not strong enough to warrant him sticking around there ... ratings on his new gig have tanked.

Plus, we're hearing staffers at CNN are still on edge over Thursday's incident ... with one source saying the anger is real and hasn't died down. It's truly become a distraction.

Lil Baby's attempt to allegedly "work" with Chrisean Rock is backfiring ... with Blueface now claiming the "4PF" rapper was actually texting him instead of his intended target.

The messy social media exchange exploded after Blueface put Baby's text message to Chrisean on blast ... with Baby maintaining his innocence by claiming he was merely a "big brother" to her.

Blueface claims Baby only met Chrisean once, and was just trying to be slick ... when Akademiks stepped in and clowned Blue for being jealous after previously downplaying his relationship with Chrisean.

Ak called Blueface a terrible manager to Chrisean for exposing every artist who's riding her current wave of clout.

During the Super Bowl, Chrisean linked with Rick Ross for a photo ... only to hear a mouthful from Blue over getting too close to the legendary rapper.

Blue says all the controversy is going toward Chrisean's music career, which he funds out of his own pocket.

T.I.'s had enough of being the "King of the South" and he's touting his next album -- "Kill the King" -- as the official funeral for his famous tagline!!!

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with T.I. this week and, for now, he's adamant "Kill the King" will be his last solo album.

The ATL rap icon explains he adopted that regal label after hearing Mystikal refer to himself as "Prince of the South" on the 2001 album "Tarantula." Tip says he spotted a void for the throne and claimed it.

He then got the blessings of legendary peers Outkast, Scarface, 8Ball and MJG ... but Big Boi warned him the "Kang" title would come with a supersized can of worms, which T.I. admits it did.

The royal title sparked a short-lived beef with Ludacris' camp, among other debacles, and T.I. says he's fully confident with deflating his own ego.

There's no timetable to rush greatness, but he revealed Jermaine Dupri just blessed him with a banger so the album is coming along as we speak.

In addition to recording his last hurrah, T.I. has plenty of other projects in the works.

He recently signed on as a brand ambassador for Cignature, a lifestyle brand that provides smoking products to adults, and is also looking ahead toward the 20th anniversary of his classic breakout album "Trap Muzik" ... which will coincide with the Hip Hop 50th celebration in August.

For the 15th anniversary, T.I. and Grand Hustle debuted the now monumental, Trap Museum in Atlanta, but he's keeping details for the upcoming celebration under wraps for now.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith says it's way past time for Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan to be best buddies again ... telling TMZ Sports his "Inside The NBA" cohost needs to do the right thing and apologize for pissing MJ off a decade ago.

Barkley recently revealed in an interview he still hasn't spoken to MJ in forever ... after their friendship was famously ruined over comments he made during a TV appearance about the G.O.A.T.'s job as owner of the Charlotte Hornets.

We spoke with Kenny about the drama ... and he said Chuck and MJ both being super stubborn guys on and off the court is what is keeping them from being cool again -- but there's one thing that should happen in order to bury the hatchet once and for all.

"Apologize, Chuck. You were in the wrong," Kenny told us ... jokingly adding, "He's always in the wrong!! I don't want to speak to Chuck today, either."

Of course, Kenny is the last person to successfully get Chuck and MJ together ... with the trio posing for a pic back in 2016 together.

While Smith told us the interaction wasn't "awkward" at the time, he said even back then Chuck still had work to do to get back in MJ's good graces.

Now, here we are in 2023 ... and Smith is doubling down on wanting Barkley to apologize.

Rihanna got lots of compliments for her Super Bowl halftime performance, but there was one glaring, predictable exception ... the man who famously holds grudges -- Donald Trump.

The ex-Prez went on his social media platform, Truth Social, and had nothing but bad things to say ... "EPIC FAIL: Rihanna gave, without question, the single worst Halftime Show in Super Bowl history — This after insulting far more than half of our Nation, which is already in serious DECLINE, with her foul and insulting language. Also, so much for her 'Stylist!'”

As for why the grudge ... well, in August 2020, in the heat of the election Trump ultimately lost, Rihanna posted a photo on Instagram, featuring a car littered with graffiti, with the words "F*** Trump" spray-painted on it.