Comedy

Tracy Morgan got a rare, high honor Friday night ... a coveted Friars Club award, and he did not miss an opportunity to tell a couple of hilarious jokes about his near-death experience.

Tracy received the Icon Award in NYC, where 500 people showed up to honor the comedian. Among them ... Sherri Shepherd, JB Smoove, Chris Kattan, Allan Houston, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Paul Shaffer, Ben Vereen, Bill Boggs, Carol Alt, Joe Piscopo, Geraldo Rivera, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Vincent Pastore, Brian Quinn, Joe Gatto, Rudy Giuliani and Anthony Weiner.

NYC Mayor Adams presented TM with a framed document declaring May 26, 2022, as Tracy Morgan Day. Friars Club President, Arthur Aidala, honored Tracy with an Icon Award trophy.

His speech was great! As you know, Tracy was in a limo that was hit by a truck and it was touch-and-go for a while ... Tracy's rehab was arduous and long, but he bounced back, clearly NOT losing his sense of humor.

He explained when you fall down, you have to get right back up, unless you're hit by a truck and then you just lay there and wait for a lawyer!!!

The gala event was held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Midtown on Thursday night.

Not many celebs have received the award ... among them -- Sinatra, Cary Grant, Robert De Niro and Tom Cruise. The award's only been bestowed 9 times in the history of Friars.

The event also honored Betty White and Bob Saget.

David Spade survived the gauntlet that is "Saturday Night Live" ... and isn't all surprised by the mass exodus we've seen from some of the show's major players in the last week.

We spoke with the 'SNL' alum at LAX who didn't mince words when he told us the show is a "F****** beating" -- AKA, a grind. Spade's comments come directly on the heels of the departure of Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon and others from the weekly comedy show.

David says while he was able to last 6 seasons on 'SNL,' it's both tough on a comedian's brain and their body ... saying it's insane that some comedians are able to last 8, 9, even 10 seasons.

Pete Davidson did 8 seasons on the show, and our photog asked Spade if he thought now that it's all said and done, if Pete will be remembered as one of the greats. David doesn't give a direct response, just saying he hasn't seen enough of Pete's time on the show.

Ellen DeGeneres is ending her show after 19 seasons ... and to celebrate her last episode ever, we've put together some of the standout celeb moments during her epic run.

Over nearly 2 decades, Ellen undoubtedly made a huge impact on daytime television ... sharing laughs, stunts and tears with her special guests, some of whom she's become close friends with over the years.

Of course, Ellen's greatest scares were a hilarious part of the show, where she'd startle the bejeezus out of guests with a huge surprise right in the middle of interviews.

We can't forget Ellen's most generous giveaway, when she helped an underprivileged school in Detroit ... and the countless other times she's given back to others in need.

As we've reported, Ellen announced she was ending her show, during a taping earlier this month. While she's not retiring from showbiz, she will be taking time off to decide what's next ... and she has some pretty big ventures in the can.

We do know, she recently signed a multi-year deal with Discovery ... on top of shows on NBC ("Family Game Fight!"), FOX ('Masked Singer') and HBO ("Ellen's Next Great Designer") and the upcoming Tig Notaro animated comedy special).

Russ is showing his newly founded DIEMON Records can put up visible competition with the major labels.

The proud do-it-yourself rapper released the video for his "Handsomer Remix" single ... featuring some serious star power cameos from Snoop Dogg and Tiffany Haddish.

The superstar actress provides comedy relief inside a mansion party and Snoop, well, he plays himself ... convincingly, though!

Tiffany doesn't rap on the track but she's told TMZ Hip Hop she plans to collaborate with both Snoop and Beyonce down the line.

Edgar Esteves and Logan Fields both directed the visual and Russ' new artist Ktlyn is featured on the track. It's been doing well too -- peaking at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Russ is rather proud of the visual, and for the $300,000 he says he paid for total production, he should be. No word how much he paid Uncle Snoop, who's known to charge $250,000 a pop when he's doing his feature thing, but it's likely they worked something out.

The man accused of tackling Dave Chappelle -- and who seems to be copping to it -- says he did what he did because he was "triggered" by DC's LGBT jokes ... which is an apparent change of tune.

23-year-old Isaiah Lee did an interview with the New York Post, and explained his reasoning for hopping up on the stage and attacking the comedian -- and wouldn't you know it ... he says he was, in fact, offended by Dave's material, and wanted him to know about it.

Lee is quoted as saying, "I identify as bisexual … and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering." He adds, "I wanted him to know that next time, he should consider first running his material by people it could affect."

Dave is reported to have addressed his transgender controversy that night before Lee allegedly rushed the stage -- talking about how he didn't have a problem with trans people, until now ... when he says they took his 'Closer' content out of context and warped it.

Here's another element that apparently sent Lee over the edge ... jokes that Dave apparently made about homelessness, which Lee says personally hurt him -- as he himself had experienced it at a young age.

Lee says, "I’m also a single dad and my son is five. It’s a struggle and I wanted Dave Chappelle to know it’s not a joke." Plus, jokes earlier in the night (made by an opener, it seems) talking pedophilia rocked Lee as well. He says he was sexually abused as a minor.

On his gruesome injuries, Lee said ... "They spat on me and twisted me as if on purpose." He also acknowledged having the fake-gun-turned knife on him that night, adding Chappelle asked why he did it. Lee says ... "I told him my mother and grandmother, who fought for his civil rights to be able to speak, would be upset at the things he said."

All of this is a new and different twist on Lee's motives. As we reported, Chappelle has said Lee told him backstage -- before he was arrested -- that he'd rushed onstage to draw attention to his grandmother's plight in a gentrified neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Amanda Bynes might be back on the small screen sooner than later -- she says she's potentially interested in getting back into the TV biz ... on her signature sitcom, no less.

The one-time child star -- who was recently released from a years-long conservatorship -- tells TMZ ... yes, she's "very interested" in a possible revival of her WB series "What I Like About You" -- a fan fave that ran for 4 seasons in the early 2000s.

She adds, "I think it's a great idea to reboot the show," while hedging a bit -- explaining that she hasn't talked to Leslie Grossman or Jennie Garth about it just yet.

Still, there's certainly some hope here -- AB says, "I miss them and would love to work with them again. I don't miss acting but I loved this show, so I'd be down to return to acting for this revival. It would be a great experience to continue the show."

That's a pretty big deal ... especially when you consider Garth herself recently said something to the same effect -- namely, expressing interest in getting the gang together again.

She noted on Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef she wasn't going to count Amanda out -- and now she might even wanna pick up the phone if there was any hesitation before ... 'cause her old costar sounds like she could easily hop on board for this.

Of course, it'll take more than just their mutual interest to get a would-be reboot off the ground and on the airwaves -- there's gotta be a studio that wants to produce it.

Pete Davidson ended his 8-year stint on "SNL" Saturday night, telling jokes that were laced with truth and humor.

Pete was front and center at the anchor desk for 'Weekend Update,' and right out of the gate he made it clear ... he was not holding back. He began with, “Hello Colin and Che and millions of people only watching to see if I bring up Kanye.”

Davidson never mentioned Kim Kardashian, but he did bring up another flame -- Ariana Grande, with whom he got engaged after dating only 2 weeks. Lorne Michaels' reaction to the engagement is hilarious.

He also cracked a joke about people being confused by his race ... “Now everyone knows I’m white because I became hugely successful while barely showing up to work.”

John Mulaney is usually beloved by all, but right now -- he's getting slammed big time ... all because he let Dave Chappelle open for him, and the guy told "anti-trans" jokes.

Here's the deal ... John had a comedy show Friday night in Columbus, OH -- where phones were locked up in a pouch so no one could record -- and according to folks who flocked to social media afterward, DC was a surprise guest who did a set before John came out.

A lot of these people say they felt ambushed by Dave's presence, especially since he allegedly went on to tell what they characterize as transphobic/homophobic jokes.

The argument is that these paying customers came out to see JM -- not Dave -- and many of them are either part of the LGBT crowd, or consider themselves allies ... going on to say they never would've purchased tickets if they'd known Chappelle was going to show up.

Of course, this all dates back to the controversy over his Netflix special, "The Closer," which some have said is transphobic -- despite DC denying that, and the streamer sticking by him.

As for what exactly was said that's transphobic (in these users' minds) ... you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who actually detailed the crack(s), but someone finally did. The supposedly harmful joke was about the stage crasher and the gun/knife he had on him.

Dave apparently said something to the effect of ... it was a knife that identified as a gun, which some took as an allusion to gender fluidity -- and sure, that's a fair assessment.

He moved on from that -- this after getting laughs, it seems -- and then made a joke about a couple of audience members he speculated might be gay ... adding, not that there's anything wrong with that. Apparently, that's about all that was said ... but it's got people up in arms.

We'll say this ... Dave does seem to be obsessed with joking about trans topics -- he did so during his Hollywood Bowl sets a few weeks ago ... and even said something about the alleged attacker, Isaiah Lee, joking that it was a "trans man" after he was tackled.

Looks like Pete Davidson is making some big changes ... there's a report he's expected to leave "Saturday Night Live" after this weekend.

That's right, according to Variety, Pete's final show will come after Saturday's finale. It's a pivotal move for the 28-year-old comedian. PD joined the show back in 2014, when he was just 20 years old ... as one of the youngest cast members in the show's history. Now, he's amongst the long-serving performers.

Since joining 'SNL,' Pete's career has taken off. He found himself in the Hollywood mix when he got engaged to singer Ariana Grande, before they called it quits. But now, he's with arguably the most famous woman in the world, Kim Kardashian.

The two have been all over the place lately -- including the Met Gala, the White House Correspondents' Dinner ... and even showing up to show his support in court for the Blac Chyna/Kardashian trial.

Outside of his love life, we know he's been pretty busy working on some projects other than 'SNL.' He recently missed a few SNL performances to film for the horror movie, "The Home."

Bob Saget's wife, Kelly Rizzo is celebrating what would've been her husband's 66th birthday ... sharing a recent photo of the two with a sweet message.

Kelly shared a pic of the two celebrating Bob's birthday one year ago in Mexico with the caption, "Happy Birthday, my Love. I miss you beyond words."

She continued, "I pray he can see all of the love he’s already getting from around the world today. Honey, everyone loves you so damn much. Everyone wants you to know how important and special you are on your special day, and we ALL celebrate you."

Of course, this post comes 4 months after Bob was found dead in his Ritz hotel room in Orlando Florida. Authorities believe he suffered from a brain bleed after hitting his head, most likely on the hotel bed's headboard.

Kelly and Bob tied the knot back in 2018, since his death, she's been very open in talking about her grief and their relationship.

Get ready for a slurry of avocado ice cream and deflated football jokes ... Tom Brady has signed up to be roasted as part of a new deal with Netflix.

The streaming service giant announced Tuesday it's making a series of new specials called "Greatest Roasts of All Time: GROAT" -- and TB12 is slated to be one of the first roastees.

Netflix says Brady will also serve as an executive producer for the series ... and the company actually clowned on the Tampa Bay Bucs star in its announcement for it all.

"We can't wait to burn three-time Super Bowl-losing quarterback Tom Brady, who only went back to the NFL in order to delay this roast," Netflix Vice President of Stand-up and Comedy Formats Robbie Praw said in a statement.

"In all seriousness, it's a huge thrill to work with the greatest football player of all time on this project. No one’s better at taking hits and still coming out on top, so we know the roast will be a breeze for Brady."

Brady had fun with the announcement, too ... channeling Marshawn Lynch by saying, "I'm just here so I won't get fined."

Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard is a tragic story about the crumbling of a marriage and horrendous allegations ... but there's another layer to this trial that 'SNL' dared to say out loud ... it's fun to watch and ridiculously entertaining.

As the anchor who threw to the courtroom said, there are all sorts of problems in the world ... Ukraine, supply shortages, but ... "I know it’s not the most pertinent story ... but with all the problems in the world, isn’t nice to have a news story we can all collectively watch and say: 'Ooh. Glad it ain’t me'?"

Kyle Mooney played an excellent Johnny, and his lawyer zeroed in on one of the more lurid parts of the case ... allegations that Amber or one of her friends crapped on Johnny's side of the bed out of revenge.

There were objections by Amber's counsel, but they were overruled because the judge delivered the following ruling ... "It does sound fun, and this trial is for fun.”

There's a hilarious video that was played in the courtroom, where the property manager -- Kenan Thompson -- discovers the poop. The housekeeper joins in the room and there's a discussion of who cleans up the dookie.

It's hilarious for sure, but the poop in the bed is actually relevant to the case. As we reported, Amber was allegedly enraged when Johnny was late for her birthday party, showed up for a few minutes and then left. Johnny says he got a call from the housekeeper the next day saying she found poop on his side of the bed that was covered up by sheets.

Tiffany Haddish says she's a coy person, so she's really trying hard not to spill the beans about a rumored music project with Beyonce ... but there's a lot of smoke that could lead to something fire!

The "Girls Trip" star joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and hinted at an upcoming collab with Queen B ... and even though she was coy and bashful about possibly getting in the studio with one of her music idols, there's enough between the lines to believe it may be happening, or it already went down.

Tiffany's been making new music with the likes of Trina and Jada Pinkett Smith, and we've been hearing she was also recruiting Beyonce, Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne to the project.

One thing is for certain ... Tiffany really admires Beyonce's work, and let's be honest, who wouldn't want to get with Bey in the studio?!?

It's interesting ... Tiffany says her original plan was to only use the music in movies and TV shows she's producing but not acting in, but she tells us why the financials might cause her to change course and drop the music publicly first.

Tiffany's a jack of all trades in Hollywood ... she just released a new book about bullying and being yourself, "Layla, the Last Black Unicorn," which she hopes helps kids who are going through some tough times.

Big E's broken neck isn't going to stop him from living life ... the WWE superstar hit up Marlon Wayans' comedy show -- wearing his neck brace -- Friday night in Florida.

The former WWE champ posted a picture on Instagram of him and Marlon at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center in Tampa ... with the two sharing a friendly embrace.

"Massive thanks to @hardrocktampa for a fun night of hob nobbing. (That sounds filthier than intended…)" E captioned the photo.

The event is worth noting 'cause E recently (March 11) suffered a devastating injury in the ring (well, technically outside of it) when fellow Superstar Ridge Holland dumped the 5'11", 285 lb. star on his head, breaking his neck in the process.

After the belly-to-belly suplex went terribly wrong, E was carted out of the arena on a stretcher, and taken directly to a local hospital for treatment. He ultimately had surgery ... which thankfully went well, according to the wrestler.

Things could've been far worse for E ... doctors say he could've suffered a stroke, paralysis, or worse, death.

Seeing Big E out and about, smiling, is a welcome sight for WWE fans ... who are obviously concerned about the WWE Superstar's health.

Sarah Silverman has a fascinating take on whether Trump should be allowed back on Twitter -- and it all has to do with what George Washington and co. could or couldn't predict.

We ran into the comedian Wednesday in NYC and asked what she made of Elon Musk essentially saying he's going to bring the ex-Prez back onto the bird app -- once his mega $44-billion deal closes, that is -- and she had a very nuanced answer that's worth hearing.

Check it out ... she says her feelings on this have evolved -- first, it was relief that DT got the boot after Jan. 6 ... but then she started thinking about what free speech is supposed to mean philosophically -- namely, tolerating abhorrent speech you don't agree with.

Sarah seems to have thought maybe Trump should've actually been allowed to stay in light of that -- but upon further reflection ... she suggests banning him might've been best.

Her argument boils down to what our founding fathers envisioned when they were writing the Constitution, and she uses the Second Amendment as a good example of an arguably outdated fundamental right we have that didn't have AR-15s in the minds of the framers when it was drafted.

That same logic, Sarah says, could be applied to social media ... the OGs certainly didn't foresee Twitter or the far-reaching impact it has on the masses.

Andy Dick is in custody after the trailer he's been living in was surrounded by cops, placing the actor in handcuffs and hauling him away ... and the whole thing was broadcast live.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Dick's been arrested for felony sexual battery after an adult male at the O'Neill Regional Park claimed the comedian sexually assaulted him.

The arrest was streamed on Captain Content's RV live stream Wednesday. You see several Orange Co. Sheriff's Deputies speaking with Dick before walking him to their vehicles, continuing the conversation and eventually cuffing him and taking him away.

Dick and a group of live streamers have been living at the site in RVs for some time now ... sheriff's deputies were seen entering Dick's trailer and searching it after he was placed into custody. They also asked to collect the male victim's pants as evidence.

It's not the first time Dick's had a serious encounter on a live stream. TMZ broke the story, cops performed a welfare check at a home Dick was staying at in Vegas last month after a man he was hanging out with pulled a gun during an argument on a live feed.