Coronavirus

Jerry Messing -- known for his role on "Freaks and Geeks" and as the face of a famous meme -- has overcome a huge hurdle in his fight with COVID-19 ... but has another major challenge ahead of him.

First, the good news -- Jerry tells TMZ after being hospitalized in August and placed on a ventilator, he's out of the ICU and off the ventilator ... has been for about a week and a half now. He's also breathing fine without a fever or cough, and has tested negative for COVID.

Sadly though, Jerry says the virus has left him partially paralyzed. He can't move his arms and legs well, and is unable to stand and walk on his own. Jerry says he's doing physical therapy and using a machine to get his legs working again.

The doctors have told him his recovery is going to take some time -- he was already hospitalized for more than a month -- but he tells us things are looking up, and he thanks everyone for their support.

We broke the story ... Jerry got his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine before he got sick, and his dad, James, determined his illness was serious and he needed aid.

Jerry says he has not completed the vaccination process yet -- doctors want him to wait until he's healthier. In particular, they need to make sure he's completely over the pneumonia he contracted during the height of his COVID battle.

James believes Jerry's in good hands at a rehab facility in Tampa that caters to people who are on the road back to recovery ... but if something goes wrong they're fully capable of handling the situation.

Jerry played Gordon Crisp on "Freaks and Geeks" and Pugsley on the "Addams Family Reunion" TV movie before gaining more modern fame as "The Fedora Guy" -- one of the Internet's most popular memes.

Great news for Cedric Ceballos ... the former NBA star says he's finally home after battling COVID-19 in the ICU for weeks.

The 1992 NBA Dunk Champ first announced he was in the ICU for 10 days on Sept. 7 by posting a photo of himself with an oxygen mask on -- saying COVID was "kicking my butt".

And, even after testing negative for COVID a week later, he was still in the ICU with breathing issues linked to the virus -- and asked everyone to pray for him.

Well, the prayers apparently worked ... Ceballos thanking everyone -- including medical professionals -- on Tuesday for getting him back home alive.

"Hello everyone, after 20 straight days on death row, through his grace and your well wishes and prayers, I AM HOME," Ceballos said on his social media.

"I can not thank each and every one of you enough for your help. The doctors and nurses did a great job especially in my darkest days, when I needed that extra push."

Ceballos added, "There are two things that get you through something like this whether you were vaccinated or not. 1, your will to fight and want to live and 2, your health care, because you are treated way different if you are covered, than not."

"Thanks again everyone and I will see you soon…."

The 52-year-old played in the NBA for 11 season with the Suns, Lakers, Mavericks, Pistons and Miami Heat -- mostly known for his blindfolded dunk in the 1992 Slam Dunk competition.

Ceballos also made the 1995 All-Star team and played overseas after retiring from the NBA.

Tarek El Moussa has COVID-19, which means his TV show is pausing production, but it's also making waves for his fiancee, Heather Rae Young's hit show on Netflix.

The HGTV star's rep tells TMZ ... Tarek came back with a positive result recently, and after consulting with his doc -- he's decided to quarantine and take a break from filming his series, 'Flipping 101.' After his quarantine period, he'll return to the show.

We're told Tarek will quarantine with Heather, who hasn't tested positive, but will also be taking a break from "Selling Sunset." BTW, they're both fully vaccinated -- and the rep says Tarek isn't experiencing any symptoms at the moment.

Production sources say filming for 'SS' was halted this past Friday -- and that everything is going on standby out of an abundance of caution. Both stars want to do things as safely and responsibly as possible.

There's also this ... we're told there's suspicion Tarek's result was a false positive. We're told he's had multiple negative tests since the positive one, but has stepped back from production ... just to ensure everyone around him remains healthy.

Seth Rogen's rant suggesting the Emmys broke COVID safety rules is misguided ... at least according to the L.A. County Department of Health, which is refuting some of his comments.

The Health Dept. tells TMZ ... yes, the current mandate in L.A. requires everyone to wear a mask indoors -- whether vaccinated or unvaccinated -- but it also says exceptions are made for film, TV and music productions.

The county says the Emmy Awards qualify as a TV production, and all the people appearing on the show are considered performers ... so masks were not a must for attendees.

Additionally, the Dept. of Health says there were extra safety modifications in place for the event. Yes, everyone had to be fully vaxxed ... but they also had to have a verified negative COVID test within 48 hours of the show. Crew members were either fully vaccinated or recently tested as well.

Overall, the Public Health office says the Emmys reached out to share its safety protocols and they "exceeded the baseline requirements for television and film productions."

Still, Rogen's speech during the ceremony was about more than just the optics of all the maskless celebs sitting close to one another. He also claimed Emmy officials promised them the show would be outdoors, and it wasn't.

AJ McLean says postponing the Backstreet Boys' upcoming Vegas residency was the right thing to do for 2 good reasons ... the pandemic and their international fans.

The BSB singer joined "TMZ Live" Monday -- along with NSYNC's Joey Fatone -- and explained it was only right to push his group's Vegas residency until 2022, because a lot of fans from outside the U.S. still can't travel here.

The 'Boys were slated to begin their residency in November at Zappos Theater inside Planet Hollywood. They were also set to simultaneously drop their first-ever Christmas album. AJ says the residency and the album, which is still in the works, go hand in hand ... and it's why the album release was also delayed.

That being said ... AJ, Joey and others are still slated to perform this upcoming weekend in Miami at Fountainbleu for its 90's Pool Party. We had to ask ... why still move forward with that, while delaying the residency? AJ gave us the deets.

George Holliday -- the man who filmed Rodney King's beating at the hands of the LAPD in the '90s, which eventually triggered the L.A. Riot -- has died after contracting COVID-19.

Holliday passed away Sunday while hospitalized in Simi Valley, CA where he'd been since mid-August -- this according to one of his close friends and his business partner. We're told he'd been bedridden with pneumonia, and finally succumbed to the virus after a few weeks. We're told he wasn't vaccinated.

There's also this ... people close to George tell us that he was on a ventilator the last few days of his life. We're told when he was first admitted, he had an oxygen tube, but his condition worsened and eventually, he was put on the ventilator.

We're told he was plagued with blood clots and internal bleeding toward the end. His outgoing voicemail referenced he was in the hospital with COVID.

Holliday's claim to fame is the historic and horrific video he captured in 1991 ... which showed 4 LAPD cops swinging batons down on a cowering King, who was trying to protect himself from the blows.

If not for Holliday's quick and decisive move to start recording the madness from his apartment balcony across the way ... it's almost certain no one would've caught wind of what had been done to King that night in March of '91.

The tape ended up as the impetus for bringing charges against 4 officers -- all of whom ended up being acquitted in criminal court ... a decision that sparked the 1992 L.A. riots.

Businesses were destroyed, cars and property were set ablaze ... and people were outright fighting with law enforcement on the streets for nearly a week straight -- resulting in more than a billion dollars in damages.

King did end up winning a civil lawsuit ... and was awarded $4 million.

Holliday put his infamous video camera up for auction just last year -- with a starting bid at nearly a quarter of a million dollars. He said it had come to symbolize more than he could ever imagine, especially in the wake of George Floyd.

He was 61.

Seth Rogen said out loud what lots of people were thinking ... how did all the celebs at the Emmys Sunday night get a pass when it came to wearing masks indoors?

Seth kinda joked he would have rethought even going to the Emmys had he known it would be held in a hermetically-sealed tent and there was not a mask in sight. He flat out called the Emmy honchos liars, saying, "They said this was outdoors. It's not. They lied to us."

The L.A. County Health Dept. says everyone at indoor events must wear masks ... what with the Delta variant still out of control in these parts. It seems undeniable -- that precaution was ignored as the gussied-up stars were like super-upscale masses huddled together as they cheered each other on. In fact, Seth groused, "There are way too many of us in this little room."

The only possible out for the Emmys is to argue the event was a "television production," but that's a stretch for everyone in the audience. Even if that were the case, it's sure bad messaging to viewers.

"West Wing" star Bradley Whitford begged to differ, saying he thought everything was COVID hunky-dory.

Cedric the Entertainer actually challenged Seth, saying, "It actually feels amazing in here, unlike what Seth was talking about." He noted everyone inside was vaxxed, joking that he didn't have an adverse reaction like the dude Nicki Minaj was talking about.

True enough ... they were all vaxxed, but it sure seems hypocritical to ignore the rules of the COVID road because it spoils a good look.

The Emmy organizers say tables in the room were 6 feet apart and the audience was smaller than normal. Nevertheless, what about masks?

Rapper Mo Fayne's going to spend a long, long time behind bars, but if he expects a sigh of relief after his release he better think twice ... 'cause it won't be easy sailing once he's out.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" star will be on a tight leash when he's done serving his 17.5-year prison sentence for his role in a PPP loan fraud case.

Pretty much everything in Mo's life will be under scrutiny during his 5 years of supervised release after he gets out of prison. One of the conditions is that Mo will have to participate in a mental health treatment program.

He'll also have to take part in a substance abuse treatment program and submit to testing to determine if he has used a prohibited substance. But, that's not all.

The rapper must also make full and complete disclosure of his finances and submit to an audit of his financial docs at the request of his probation officer. And, things will be a little complicated if he wants to get a new credit card because Mo needs the approval of his probation officer to incur new credit charges or open additional lines of credit.

As we first reported ... the 38-year-old was sentenced to 210 months in prison after he pled guilty to 6 counts, including bank and wire fraud. He's also been ordered to pay a huge restitution bill ... totaling a cool $4,465,865.55.

Oscar De La Hoya is obviously feeling great after his COVID hospital stay -- some 7 days after the fact, he was putting his lungs to good use ... with some movie-themed karaoke.

The boxing champ was out in Pasadena this past Wednesday, hitting a place called the Der Wolf bar for some evening time show tunes ... where he got on the mic to sing "Shallow" -- yes, the Lady Gaga song from "A Star is Born."

In video obtained by TMZ, you can see ODLH reading lyrics off the monitor and belting out the second verse (Gaga's part) ... with bar-goers enthusiastically helping him out. Seems like a crowd favorite! He flubs a bit as he goes along -- but carries on nicely regardless.

It's a 180 from how Oscar was doing just a week and change prior -- when he was hospitalized for a handful of days for a nasty bout with COVID ... which prevented him from fighting Vitor Belfort, and requiring Evander Holyfield to step in (and get TKO'd).

Clearly, Oscar's doing great after that ... and maybe this outing means he'll get back in the ring sooner than later. Assuming he doesn't get sick again, that is, in a mask-less environment (like this).

Trinidad James is not onboard the trash Nicki Minaj train for putting out bogus information on COVID vaccines, saying she's an important voice and deserves respect.

We got the Trinidadian-American rapper Friday at LAX, and he seemed frustrated people were going after Nicki hard after she said she heard someone in Trinidad had a reaction to the vaccine that enlarged his balls. There's never been such case that was verified, and health officials in Trinidad were pissed they wasted time trying to track down the phantom person with such an affliction.

Trinidad James says Nicki and the health minister should sit down and have a chitchat, but it's unclear what good that would do ... he's already said she's off base, though TJ doesn't seem to necessarily buy it.

He also gives a peek into COVID on the island. He says Trinidad is so small, just a few cases trigger much greater concern than in the U.S., which views coronavirus on a much larger scale.

Bruno Mars will bring the Uptown Funk to the ritzy shores of Cape Cod this weekend -- and he's gonna make serious bank for doing it ... at the wedding of a powerful CEO's son.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Bruno's been hired to perform at the wedding of Troy Brown and Kristin Ryan, and while those names might not ring any bells ... Troy's dad's does.

Motorola Solutions Inc. CEO Greg Brown, aka father of the bridegroom, booked Mr. "24K Magic" for the event going down at a super swanky hotel in the area, and spared no expense. We're told the wedding tab is in the millions.

Bruno, of course, will get a handsome slice of that ... we're told his performance price tag will hover somewhere between the high six-figure to seven-figure range.

As for the wedding guest list, it's unclear how many will attend, but the bride and groom are only allowing those who've been vaccinated to witness their "I Do's" ... and put their pinky fingers to the moon.

So if any possible guests had reservations about getting a COVID jab ... maybe a free Bruno concert convinced them to suck it up and take one for the team.

UFC fighter Dan Hooker's fight against Nasrat Haqparast is in serious jeopardy ... with the lightweight begging for a visa to make it to Vegas for UFC 266 next Saturday.

31-year-old Hooker -- who is from Auckland, New Zealand -- sent out a public cry for help to the U.S. Embassy’s Kevin Covert on Twitter on Thursday.

FYI -- Auckland is currently experiencing widespread COVID-19 outbreaks ... which has led the government to require folks to stay home and remain in bubbles.

Hooker tweeted at Covert in hopes of getting his situation handled ASAP ... saying, "Hi Kevin, apologies for messaging on here but it’s a last resort."

"My visa is with the US embassy here in NZ as I fight next week in Las Vegas on #UFC266 Update today is it won’t be approved until next week due to lock down which will cancel my fight. Please help."

"The embassy has my passport and all the completed documentation, all I need is it to be processed and returned," he added.

"This is an absolute last resort."

Hooker is slated to fight 26-year-old Haqparast --who is 5-2 since joining the UFC in 2017 -- on September 25.

Brian Ortega vs. Alex Volkanovski and Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler are also on the card.

The embassy responded to Hooker's tweet by asking him to reach out to them directly ... so it seems they may be on the case.

Wendy Williams was taken to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation one day before it was announced that the new season of her show would be delayed due to COVID issues ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Wendy tell us the talk show host was voluntarily admitted to an NYC hospital Tuesday for a psych evaluation. Our sources say Wendy has struggled with mental health issues for some time, so this was not a big shock.

On top of that, Wendy does have COVID, but she's asymptomatic, and doctors continue to monitor her physical health as well.

It's uncertain when she'll be released, but we're told her mental health continues to improve each day. And, our sources say, her COVID is still in check with no real symptoms.

Wendy's 13th season was set to premiere Sept. 20, but that's been pushed to Oct. 4.

However, last week producers revealed she was dealing with "ongoing health issues" and would not be able to make it to promotional activities as she was being evaluated.

Nicki Minaj's tweet about her cousin's friend becoming impotent and getting swollen testicles has really blown up ... to the point where she's getting chided both on American soil and beyond.

Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh blasted the rapper Wednesday, calling her claim about one person's alleged side effect of the COVID vaccine on the Caribbean island bogus.

The health minister said the reason it took his department a couple days to respond is because they were looking into Minaj's comments, adding ... "Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim."

As you know ... Nicki's received major backlash ever since she tweeted about why she's hesitant to get vaccinated, which included the anecdote about her cousin's friend in Trinidad.

It led to senior health officials like Dr. Fauci condemning her unscientific claim, but Nicki later claimed she was invited to The White House to speak with medical experts and get educated on the vax.

However, a WH official later clarified that it did NOT extend an invite for Minaj to visit, but simply offered to hop on a phone call to discuss questions about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID vaccine after her tweets.

Nicki has not taken too kindly to this clarification, and responded with a 14-minute Instagram video claiming she was invited ... and suggesting she's being made out to look like a liar.

For what it's worth, Nicki also claimed her Twitter account had been suspended, but the company denied taking any action against the account.

Cardi B's a mother of 2 now ... so she's asking the judge to postpone the trial over her 'Gangsta Bitch' cover art, which she was sued over nearly 4 years ago.

If you don't recall ... the album cover for Cardi's debut mixtape -- "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" -- features the rapper sitting back, drinking a beer, while a man with an elaborate back tattoo puts his head between her legs.

Kevin Brophy sued over the image, claiming that's 100 percent him in the image, but he never posed for the photo or gave Cardi permission to use his likeness. He also claimed the ordeal ruined his life and wanted at least $5 mil in damages.

The trial was finally slated for next month, but Cardi's filed new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- asking for a delay because she just gave birth to her son on Sept. 4.

According to the docs ... Cardi doesn't believe she should be required to travel all the way from the East Coast to Southern California next month, because she needs to be with her newborn for obvious reasons.

She also brings up the risks of COVID from travel and spending extended periods of time in public places, such as airports, hotels, and the courthouse. So, she's asking the court to put the trial on ice for at least 75 days.

Nicki Minaj is fiercely defending herself after letting it be known she won't be getting the COVID-19 vaccine until she's done enough research.

Nicki responded to tweets practically all of Monday night after she'd posted an explanation for her absence from the Met Gala, which required all guests to be vaccinated. She declared, if she gets vaccinated "it won't [be] for the Met. It'll be once I feel I've done enough research. I'm working on that now."

Then, about 20 minutes later, she dropped the tweet that still has social media fired up today. Nicki said her cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine cuz "his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen." She added that "his friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied."

Nicki isn't pleased that anecdote is the one grabbing headlines. She's pointing out her critics are purposely ignoring her prior tweets encouraging people to get vaccinated, wear masks and be safe.

She also shared a screenshot of news headlines and called them all lies. Nicki wrote, "3 lies in a row from huge news platforms. I cited my young child as why I didn’t want to travel. But notice how NONE of them mentioned that? Ask yourself why that was."

Nicki also shared that she came down with COVID while preparing for this year's VMAs ... and she feared passing it to her son, who was born last September.

She tweeted, "Do u know what it is not to be able to kiss or hold your tiny baby for over a week? A baby who is only used to his mama?"

Apparently, Nicki's now satisfied with her research -- she relented she will eventually get the vaccine, because she'll have to travel and go on tour.