Comedy

Hiram Kasten -- a force on the New York City comedy scene in the 1970s and '80s who appeared on "Seinfeld" -- has died.

The actor-comedian passed away Sunday after battling various illnesses including prostate cancer ... according to an obituary posted to his official Facebook page.

In the obituary, Kasten's remembered as a hilarious comedian, charming guy and terrific family man who rose to fame during New York City's comedy boom of the 1980s.

Jeff Ross says Tom Brady really is the GOAT for letting millions of people have a laugh at his expense ... telling TMZ Sports the future Hall of Famer deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for being such a good sport during his roast last month.

We caught up with "The RoastMaster General" out at LAX this week ... and tried to ask who he'd love to target next, considering Netflix's "Roast Of Tom Brady" was such a massive success.

But, Ross explained it's going to be tough to get any celeb to step up to the plate after seeing what happened to Brady ... which led him to praise the guy for taking everything on the chin.

Camille Winbush is far from the little girl who played Bernie Mac's daughter -- something her OnlyFans followers know all too well -- and now she's clapping back at folks shading her new gig.

Ironically, the former 'Bernie Mac Show' star admitted the trolls hit the nail on the head with at least one assumption -- she tells Comedy Hype, "When people say, 'Oh, those Bernie Mac checks must have dried up,' I'm like, 'From a job 20 years ago when I was a 12-year-old? Yeah.' Like, duh."

Camille said her residuals still trickle in, but they're not exactly booming, and certainly aren't enough to make a living ... hence, why she started her OF page in 2021.

Kathy Griffin's bouncing back ... fresh from round two of surgical procedures to restore her voice.

The comedienne posted an IG pic of her throat Wednesday wrapped in a gauze bandage and said, "Vocal cord surgery went well. 🙏 A bit of scarring and swelling, but it’ll be worth it if I get some of my voice back. 🙏🙏🙏."

Kathy spilled the deets on her surgery the day before ... explaining she's getting an implant in her left vocal cord. This comes a year after surgery in the same spot, which was left paralyzed during her 2021 lung cancer operation to remove half of her left lung.

The new sex symbols of Hollywood have arrived -- and they're now being dubbed "rodent men," whose critter features ladies just can't resist ... so says The New York Times.

The publication's Styles team just put together a comprehensive list of hot "rodent men" ... with Jeremy Allen White, Travis Barker and Matty Healy among the poster boys ... err, poster rats?

"Challengers" stars Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor are getting a lot of non-traditional love on social media these days -- lotsa folks think they look like hotter, human versions of Stuart Little -- and now thanks to them, "rodent men" is a full-blown category of hunk.

1:30 PM PT -- The Diddy roast cohost and organizer Brittany Brave joined "TMZ Live" on Tuesday and dismissed accusations that the jokes were out of place for a domestic violence event ... the allegations date back years and she says the timing was perfect!!!

50 Cent made it a top priority to be present at a Miami-based roast with sauteed Diddy on the menu ... and he was hoping to see his nemesis in person!!!

50 was a VIP at a brand new venue The Dead Flamingo Pop-Up's unfiltered brutal roast of Diddy hosted by comedians Brittany Brave and Danny Creamcity ...  which spared the embattled music mogul NO mercy.

The casino where George Lopez cut his set short this weekend is doubling down on their criticism of him -- saying the loud crowd wasn't heckling in their eyes ... they were just adoring fans.

A rep for Eagle Mountain Casino -- where George performed for a bit before bailing on the show early -- tells TMZ ... they stand by their initial response to the drama, in which they blasted GL for letting down his sold-out audience.

They add ... "We do not consider unruly behavior and unsafe environment to be compliments shouted at George. We should have had an opportunity for his private security, tour manager or George himself to let us know who they wanted ejected and we would have done so."

George Lopez used baseball rules at his recent comedy show ... giving his fans three warnings to stop interrupting before storming offstage -- in new footage obtained by TMZ.

The new clips show the comedian at Eagle Mountain Casino Friday night in the middle of a marijuana bit when the ruckus kicks off ... upsetting George who's clearly trying to get through his set.

Watch the clip ... it's all going fine until a fan yells out something that isn't just a cheer ... though it doesn't necessarily sound like heckling. GL's frustration shines through and he ominously says, "That's one."

Julia Louis-Dreyfus disagrees with her former costar Jerry Seinfeld on comedy turning too politically correct -- saying that stance usually set off alarm bells for her.

The actress sat down for an interview with the New York Times published Saturday where they asked her about remarks her longtime pal Jerry Seinfeld made ... when he called out the "extreme left" for ruining comedic television.

JLD says she's not in line with Seinfeld one bit ... saying certain comedies and dramas from years ago just don't work under modern scrutiny anymore -- and, being sensitive to that changing taste isn't a problem.

2:00 PM PT -- George Lopez's team has responded to the claims, placing the blame at the feet of Eagle Mountain Casino in a statement to TMZ, saying, "It’s the venue or casino’s job to provide a good experience for both the artist and the fans, but the casino failed in this regard. The audience was overserved and unruly, and the casino staff was unable to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for the artist and guests."

"George’s personal security team worked with the venue security staff to maintain order, ensure safety, and eject disruptive individuals. Unfortunately, the casino security team was not adequate to accomplish this task. George is not obligated to perform in an unsafe environment. He feels badly that those who came to see the show were unable to do so as a result.”

George Lopez is catching some flak online for allegedly walking out of his most recent gig early ... and not just from pissed-off fans, but from the venue too!

The guy behind the viral 'Crazy' trend on TikTok is reaping a ton of benefits after setting the internet on fire with the latest frenzy -- and he's already got a gig out of it ... with the WNBA.

We talked to Stephen Glickman -- who's already famous from the "Big Time Rush" show -- on "The TMZ Podcast," where he discussed his now-viral TikTok sound ... in which he does a slow, dramatic rendition of Gnarls Barkley's 2006 hit, "Crazy." Tons of stars have hopped on the trend -- lip-syncing to his track and sharing something cringe-worthy from their past.

There's nothing cringey about Stephen's success, however ... 'cause he says he's set to perform a WNBA halftime show soon. SG tells us he and his band are gonna fly out to Las Vegas ... where he will perform for the sold-out crowd at the Aces vs. Minnesota Lynx game.

Comedian Clayton English is thanking Tyler Perry for putting a brighter spotlight on his racial profiling lawsuit ... and says his run-in with airport cops has him thinking some Black cops absolutely discriminate against Black citizens.

The comedic actor filed suit against the Clayton County Police Department -- along with fellow comedian Eric André -- for separate incidents of alleged racial profiling they experienced at Atlanta's Harstfield-Jackson Airport.

English says he was walking down the jet bridge to board a flight -- having already gone through security and getting his ticket scanned -- when officers stopped him and hit him with a barrage of questions.

Tiffany Haddish once told Leonardo DiCaprio she wanted to shag -- but with one major condition ... which sounds a little controversial, even though she's clearly joking.

Speaking on SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show" Thursday, the actress recounted the first time she met Leo -- with her saying, "I told him, 'I want to f***, but only if you're in character from 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape.'"

As you may know ... Leo starred in the 1993 flick alongside Johnny Depp ... playing the role of Arnie Grape, a young boy with special needs.

Zooey Deschanel is usually acting her ass off on camera -- but to cap off the month of May ... she was singing her ass off instead, and doing a damn good job too.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, that shows the "New Girl" star at an art gallery/wine bar in Wilmington, NC two Sundays ago ... where we're told she and some colleagues rented the space for a good old-fashioned karaoke sesh.

As you can see, Zooey was on the mic and belting out songs -- including "Don't Stop Believin'," "The Weight" and even "We Are the World." For each, she sang her heart out.

Will Smith is not ignoring the elephant in the room -- there's a scene in his new 'Bad Boys' movie where he's repeatedly slapped, a pretty clear nod to his infamous Chris Rock moment ... but the question is why now?

Early reviews for "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" are trickling out with the action flick hitting theaters Thursday night ... and word is Will's character, Mike Lowry, gets slapped multiple times by Martin Lawrence's character, Marcus Burnett.

The slap scene is supposedly near the film's climax, and it sounds like there are a few layers to the joke. Detective Burnett keeps calling his partner, "bad boy" while slapping him in the face.

Sam Heughan is dreaming big as he prepares to attend a Taylor Swift concert in the United Kingdom ... joking the pop star will forget all about Travis Kelce when she lays eyes on him.

The "Outlander" star made his high hopes clear in a new clip -- where he kids he'll steal Taylor away from her NFL player boyfriend in some new behind-the-scenes footage from the "Outlander" set over in Scotland, where Taylor is about to play 3 shows in Edinburgh.

Speaking to the camera in full costume as Highland warrior Jamie Fraser, Sam reveals most of the "Outlander" cast is going to see Taylor in concert ... and that she's going to leave Travis for him once she sees his orange wig in the crowd.