Fights & Feuds

Anita Baker's decision to erase Babyface from her tour doesn't surprise R&B singer CeCe Peniston all that much ... she calls it showbiz!!!

We caught the "Finally" singer out in NYC following the R&Beef heard 'round the world ... she attested she's seen her fair share of egos sinking ships before they leave the dock.

As we reported, AB claimed her boundaries were being violated by Babyface's fans, who were mad he didn't have more stage time. However, CeCe doesn't Babyface is guilty of any wrongdoing.

She also seemed to give AB a pass for being angry, which basically gets us to where they are now ... the stars going their separate ways.

One person who's not giving out passes is Tank, who gave AB a piece of his mind for his one million Instagram followers to see.

Babyface also didn't admit to any wrongdoing on his part ... but he's still out of an opener job!!!

Anita Baker and Babyface's rocky road out on tour has come to an end ... as Baker made the decision to boot him off her Songstress Tour.

AB revealed she reached her breaking point Tuesday, and felt the best course of action was to go about the tour alone. AB says for the past 24 hours, she was forced to put up with violent threats on behalf of Babyface's fans and felt she needed to cut him for her own personal safety.

Anyone salty about his absence for the remainder of the tour dates will be allowed to refund their tickets. The week kicked off in shambles as AB and Babyface fans engaged in online unpleasantries.

Fans demanded AB bill Babyface as a co-headliner, but the tour is designed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Anita's debut album "The Songstress" ... so she wanted to stay on as the project's headliner on her own.

We reached out to Babyface to see if he's stressed out over the news ... or if he's just gonna let it flow. Nothing yet!

We covered the drama in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

"Coward!"

That's Julianna Pena's reaction to Amanda Nunes' retiring inside the Octagon after UFC 289 ... walking away from the sport before the two UFC stars got a chance to fight for a third and deciding time.

The former bantamweight champ joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... where she viscerally reacted to Nunes' retirement.

"There's unfinished business and listen, the reality is that Amanda retired. She had a great career, but let's call a spade a spade. She's a coward. From the very beginning, the UFC told me that she didn't want to fight me and that's why it took so long for them to make the trilogy," Amanda told us.

Of course, 35-year-old Nunes easily handled Irene Aldana, scoring a decisive and unanimous 5-round decision Saturday night in Vancouver ... before she laid down her gloves in the center of the cage.

Remember, 33-year-old Pena defeated Nunes at UFC 269 in December 2021, in turn taking her bantamweight title. The women rematched at UFC 277 in July 2022 ... a fight Amanda won by unanimous decision (though, if you watch the video, the fight wasn't without controversy).

The Venezuelan Vixen and Lioness were supposed to settle their score once and for all at 289 ... but Julianna was forced to drop out after suffering a serious rib injury.

"We're 1-1, it's tied up and the fact that she walked away like this, it's unfortunate but personally, congratulations. Professionally, what the heck is that?"

Now, the expectation is Pena will fight Raquel Pennington or another top contender ... but, Amanda doesn't think Julianna will ever be champ again, and she said as much during her post-fight presser.

Pena believes Nunes is simply taking a shot at her.

"[Amanda] knows what can happen. She knows that she lost her belt to me and she knows that I'm a threat. She's gonna do everything and anything that she can to discredit me to say that I'm not good or that I'm never gonna be champion."

Julianna says she's not been left to "carry the whole division" by herself ... and she doesn't plan to sit around and dream about what a trilogy could've been like. It's onward and upward for the former champ.

"At this point, [Amanda's] dead to me. You retired, good, go, ride off into the sunset, have a good time. We gotta keep s*** pushing around here, so let's keep this division open and alive and things are gonna be exciting!"

But, with that said ... Pena did leave open the possibility for a future fight.

Anita Baker says she won't stand for another minute of disrespect from Babyface or his rabid fan base ... and wants the R&B king to tell his fans he's not the most royal member on The Songstress Tour!!!

On Monday, Anita ripped into Babyface and a random smattering of his followers on Twitter, continuing her tirade from the day before.

According to Anita, Babyface has been breaching his contract as an opening act by staying onstage past his set time, which cuts into her headlining performance.

Fans lashed out at Anita for not acknowledging Babyface as her equal -- to which she informed him the "Whip Appeal" singer is certainly NOT ... at least as where The Songstress Tour is concerned.

The multi-city event is supposed to be celebrating the 40th anniversary of Anita's debut album ... but things have mostly been boiling in beef.

Back in May, Babyface assured TMZ that he and Anita were cool after his set was cut during the New Jersey show ... and this was after a 2-hour delay.

Marlon Wayans is letting off more steam after his beef with a United Airlines gate agent ... saying the company needs to do better in addressing future issues with passengers.

The actor/comedian joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday -- outside a Delta terminal -- and shared the details of his recent airline incident when he got kicked off his flight and hit with a citation.

Marlon tells the whole thing wasn't his fault ... saying the agent had an attitude with him from the jump, and it only escalated. Wayans said he had 3 bags, and was asked to consolidate them to two, once he did that, Marlon tells us the gate agent then told him he needed to check a bag ... which caused him to get upset.

Marlon says United did reach out to him -- behind the scenes -- but it was only to stand behind their policy ... which he says was insult to injury.

TMZ broke the story ... MW got into it with a gate agent for UA Friday, as he was trying to fly out of Denver. A spokesperson for Denver PD told us, they gave him a citation for disturbing the peace after hearing both sides.

Megan Fox unleashed her fury on the guy who floated a now-debunked online rumor about her and her 3 kids, ripping him a new one for trying to capitalize on her celebrity and use her for political gain.

The actress took to Instagram Saturday and posted a vicious screed directed at Robby Starbuck who she says falsely claimed Megan was a child abuser for dressing her adolescent sons as girls, causing two of them to break down in a public park.

Starbuck's Twitter message was accompanied by a photo of Megan with the 3 boys she shares with ex Brian Austin Green, who categorically denied the story to TMZ.

In her IG post, Megan first called Starbuck a "clout chaser" who was desperate to "acquire wealth, power, success, or fame."

But, Megan warned Starbuck -- who unsuccessfully ran for a 2022 Tennessee congressional seat -- to "never use children as leverage or social currency, especially under malevolent and erroneous pretense."

As we reported, Megan's ex, and the father of the kids, Brian Austin Green, also went after Starbuck Saturday, telling us, "This person trying to claim this is true is a perfect example of someone with selfish motives that does not care about negatively affecting a parent-child relationship."

Megan went on to say ... "exploiting my child’s gender identity to gain attention in your political campaign has put you on the wrong side of the universe."

Megan also reminded Starbuck she has been "burned at the stake" by many "narcissistic" men, but she has nevertheless endured.

She ended with this ... "You f--ked with the wrong witch."

BKFC just celebrated their 5-year anniversary -- and for a promotion that was once a pariah -- President David Feldman says they've got big things coming, including a reality show, setting them up to become the second biggest combat sports org. in the world.

"We're in talks with two major networks right now. I think we're going to get a network deal, and I think that's going to really blow us up. We already have four or five buyers on it," the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship CEO told us.

"We're going to have a reality show end of '23, beginning of '24, and a major TV deal," Feldman said, adding ... "I really certainly think in three to four years from now, we're in the number two spot in combat sports. I really mean that."

BKFC has recently put on some big fights ... namely Mike Perry vs. Luke Rockhold (that's when Conor McGregor came into the ring afterward) and Eddie Alvarez vs. Chad Mendes.

Like the early days of MMA, bare knuckle boxing was once shunned by many states, accused of being too brutal. But, the sport has been much more widely accepted over the last couple of years, with BKFC having put on more than 50 events in 12 different states, and 4 countries.

"A lot of people ask what's my toughest obstacle that I had to overcome with BKFC, and it was just changing people's perception on it. The perception on it was, a backyard street fight, a bar fight. Anything but that. We have the best combat sports athletes in the world," Feldman told us.

As for the smoothest part, David says ... "it's just relatable to everybody. Everybody in the world has either watched at some point or another or been in a bare-knuckle fight in their life. Everybody kind of knows what it is. So because of that, it helped us transition, I believe."

Feldman says they now have their eyes on several big boxing stars who they'd like to lure to BKFC. David believes bare-knuckle boxing is a true "middle ground" between boxing and MMA ... potentially setting up fights that'd draw massive fan interest.

Zoey Stark has been making a name for herself since being drafted to "Monday Night Raw" ... but the former NXT star is ready to become a champ on the main roster -- and wants to go through WWE Smackdown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley to make it happen!

TMZ Sports spoke with Stark just days after she defeated Natalya to qualify for the Money in the Bank Women's ladder match with help from her friend, Trish Stratus ... and she's already envisioning going toe-to-toe with the Judgement Day member in the squared circle.

"I really want Rhea Ripley," Stark said. "I feel like we can have an amazing match. I feel like we'll have great chemistry inside of a ring together. And we'll have a fun time doing it, and honestly, we'll beat the crap out of each other. And I think that would be fun to watch."

Stark's on-camera relationship with Trish blossomed after she helped Stratus defeat Becky Lynch at "Night of Champions" ... and Zoey told us she attributes her early success on RAW to Trish's mentorship.

"Trish has been very big in helping me," Stark said. "Every week, we sit down, and we talk about what could have been better, what do I need to fix. She's been an amazing mentor. So being able to work alongside her is so fun, and I'm truly blessed to be able to do that."

Before Stark can get her hands on Rhea, she'll have to defeat several competitors at the Money in the Bank Ladder match, slated to go down Saturday, July 1, at the O2 Arena in London ... but she assured us she's going to emerge from that match victorious.

She also gave Haley & Hanna Cavinder some advice after the twins recently made their first WWE appearance on NXT ... reminding the former college hoopers that becoming a WWE Superstar requires sacrifice and commitment.

Marlon Wayans says he's not to blame for missing his upcoming show after an issue with United Airlines, but apparently, the cops think differently ... because he's been hit with a citation for the incident.

A spokesperson for the Denver PD tells us Wayans got into it with a gate agent for the airline Friday as he was trying to fly out of the Mile High City. Cops say they spoke to all parties involved -- including Wayans -- and slapped him with a citation for disturbing the peace.

We spoke with a witness who tells us Wayans was pissed he had to check a bag during boarding, allegedly slamming his ticket on the counter and then proceeding to board the plane. The witness says the gate agent tried to stop Wayans, but he couldn't, so he called security.

However, a source close to Marlon says he was first told he had to consolidate his bag and then being told he had to check the bag altogether.

We're told about 30 minutes later, Wayans was escorted off the plane ... and that's the time when cops got involved. We got video of Marlon leaving the ticketing counter looking pissed.

As for Marlon, he took to Twitter to air his grievances with the airline, tweeting, "If this is how United treats their first class customers.... I'd rather fly any competitor coach. Sorry KC I'm gonna miss tonight's shows due to a United gate agent who probably hated white chicks."

For those not following along, "White Chicks" is a movie he and his brother, Shawn, starred in back in 2004.

Marlon, who was set to perform Friday night at Kansas City Improv, says the whole ordeal has forced him to miss his show, writing, "It's not my fault blame the gate agent and United Airlines can't believe how they allow their first class customers to be treated this way. I need corporate to reach out DM me. this agent was rude."

A source tells us Marlon was eventually able to get out of Denver on another airline.

Amanda Nunes believes she is the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time... but if you don't, that's cool with "The Lioness."

TMZ Sports talked to 35-year-old Nunes, who is returning to the Octagon in the main event at UFC 289, and asked her who she believed was the greatest ever.

Amanda didn't mince her words ... "Me."

Of course, it's a subjective question ... it can't be definitively answered. In the wake of Jon Jones going up to heavyweight and dominating Ciryl Gane with ease, a lot of fight fans, including Dana White, have declared "Bones" Jones the greatest.

Others in the conversation are Khabib Nurmagomedov, Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson and Georges St-Pierre, in addition to Nunes.

Amanda, who won back her belt vs. Julianna Pena in July, will fight 35-year-old Irene Aldana Saturday night in Vancouver. We asked Nunes, who has done everything in the sport (double champ, beaten "Cyborg", Ronda Rousey, V. Shevchenko), if retirement has entered her mind.

The short answer is no ... 'cause Amanda says she still enjoys the "feeling" of a fight, and "process" of preparing.

"I wanna keep doing this because this is what makes me alive, keeping me fresh, keeping me on my toes. I love the competitions and I don't see anything after this fight so I guess I'm gonna go through this, get my belt back home, and get right back to the next."

We also talked to Irena, who is on a mission to stop the belt from going back to Florida with Nunes, and she made it clear she isn't content with simply sharing the Octagon with Amanda. She wants to win.

And since her teammate, fellow Mexican fighter Alexa Grasso, won the belt by beating another dominant champ in Valentina Shevchenko, Aldana has faith that it's possible.

"I learned a lot from [Alexa] and I love the way she handled all these things. She had the world against her and nobody gave her a chance and she showed the world."

FYI, Grasso was a huge underdog ... and so is Aldana.

But, Alexa won ... and that's Irene's plan, too.

"Vanderpump Rules" star Lala Kent says she and her castmates might've gone too hard on Raquel Leviss during the explosive reunion finale ... but also says reality TV doesn't seem to be the best line of work for someone like Raquel.

We got Lala at LAX Thursday and she's feeling much different toward Raquel after watching Wednesday night's episode ... compared to the "dirty" feeling she had in March after the reunion filming.

She says she recognizes the work Raquel's been putting in at the mental health facility after she got pelted with attacks from her costars for the affair with Tom Sandoval behind Ariana Madix's back. Lala feels all the suffering Raquel's been going through is a sign the public spotlight isn't for her.

As you know, Raquel -- as well as Tom -- were the punching bags during the 3-part 'VPR' reunion, and Raquel eventually broke down and confessed the full accurate timeline of when she and Tom started having sex ... debunking some of Tom's claims.

She started sobbing when she admitted a huge secret -- they'd slept together in Ariana and Tom's home while Ariana was away at her grandma's funeral.

Raquel's been at a behavioral health and trauma center for more than 2 months now ... and Lala says she's really happy Raquel's getting the help she needs -- despite their fierce differences up to this point.

Blueface might not be locked up at the moment, but if the new details about his recent Las Vegas robbery charge are true ... his freedom could be in jeopardy.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Blueface, his pregnant girlfriend Chrisean Rock and several others in their entourage are accused of assaulting a woman ... on May 29 inside the Palms Casino.

Cops say the woman walked up to Chrisean and professed her love for the reality star, and congratulated her on her pregnancy ... but also proclaimed she didn't care for Blueface, and added a "F*** him" for good measure.

According to the report, Chrisean didn't appreciate the verbal jab at her man, and punched the woman in the left side of her face. Cops say Blueface then snatched her phone, put it in his back pocket and mockingly said, "This is mine now."

Officers say the woman was able to retrieve her phone from Blueface, but claims another man in the entourage clocked her with an uppercut!!!

During the melee, Blueface allegedly kicked the woman in the face and chest until security intervened ... and Blue, Chrisean and co. fled in a Dodge Charger.

Responding police officers reviewed hotel surveillance footage, as well as the cell phone footage showing the moment Chrisean hit the woman.

As we reported, Blueface got arrested Wednesday while in court for another, more serious, case -- he's charged with attempted murder for a shooting incident last year outside a Vegas strip club.

Boxing star Adrien Broner is itching to show his critics he's far from washed ... telling TMZ Sports he's looking to knockout Bill Hutchinson later on Friday!!

The 34-4-1 welterweight hasn't stepped into the ring since 2021 ... but he says he's more than ready to put back on his gloves at the FITE event inside Casino Miami in Florida.

"It's been a crazy training camp," the 33-year-old said earlier this week. "I feel good. I'm ready. I can't wait to put on a show."

Many, however, don't believe Broner can return to the boxer he once was ... particularly because he's only taken one fight since he lost badly to Manny Pacquiao in Jan. 2019.

But, Broner says he isn't the least bit concerned about his detractors ... telling us they're all simply just like "ass****s."

"Everybody got one," he said. "If I didn't have critics or haters, then I wouldn't be doing something right, you know? I'd feel like, 'S***, why nobody hatin' on me?'"

AB's opponent, Hutchinson, is by no means a tomato can ... he's 20-2-4 with nine knockouts -- and will present a tough test for Broner. The fight is expected to begin around 10:30 PM ET.

Darby Allin's rockin' a new look ... the AEW star showed off his brand new head and neck tattoo, and the finished product, which took 45 to 50 hours to complete, like the stunts he pulls off in and outside the ring, is jaw-dropping!

Allin hit up Atlanta-based tattoo artist Caleb Morgan ... who performed the intricate work on Darby. The tattoo took numerous sessions to complete, and runs from the side of his face and head, down to his shoulder and arm, all the way to his hand.

Caleb says the tattoo (which he described as an atmospheric extension of Allin's personality) was truly a collaborative work -- Darby had a vision, and he refined it with Morgan's help.

The new black and gray tat was visible on Wednesday's episode of "AEW Dynamite" when Allin saved AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy from a beatdown, with help from Sting.

The tattoo, particularly the neck section, looks like it'd be incredibly painful -- thankfully Allin, who just competed in the biggest match of his career (a Fatal 4-way), clearly has a high pain tolerance.

Don Lemon might be able to make a return to CNN after the firing of former CEO Chris Licht ... as folks in Don's world would not be surprised if the network reaches out in the near future.

Sources familiar tell TMZ ... the potential reversal of fortune wouldn't be shocking due to the well-documented and long-standing tensions between Chris and Don.

As we reported, Chris took over as CNN's head honcho in May 2022 and clashed with Don many times about things Don said on-air, as well as an outfit choice Don made for the premiere of "CNN This Morning."

You'll recall, Don claimed he was completely blindsided by his April termination after 17 years with CNN, coyly saying ... "It is clear that there are some larger issues at play."

Many insiders saw that as a not-so-subtle way of saying Licht was fighting for his own job. Obviously, it's been less than a day since his ouster, so none of the execs at CNN have reached out to Don or his people just yet.

What's more, Amy Entelis, CNN's Executive VP for Talent and Content Development, has been tapped as one of the network's interim leaders, and she's someone Don's been close with for nearly 15 years.

Meanwhile, Don's doing exactly what he said he would ... taking the summer off from work, but we're told he's still entertaining all meetings, and is open to hearing out all options.

"I love you, Sheik. I love you forever."

That's Sgt. Slaughter on the death of his rival turned stable partner, and most importantly close friend, The Iron Sheik ... who passed away at the age of 81 on Wednesday.

TMZ Sports talked to the WWE Hall of Famer about his friend's passing ... from Sheik's impact on the sport (and some of its biggest stars like Hulk Hogan) to how they met decades ago.

"I met [Sheik] when he was going through the training camp in Minnesota with Verne Gagne, along with Ric Flair," Slaughter explained, talking about his first interaction in the 1970s with the Iranian-born wrestler.

FYI, Gagne was a trainer and promoter who ran the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association (AWA).

Sgt. says he became fast friends with Sheik and the guys even worked together at his dad's roofing company.

The Iron Sheik was one of the greatest heels pro wrestling has ever seen and, although he was playing a character, fans take this seriously. We asked Slaughter if the hate ever got to Sheik.

"Never difficult [on Sheik]. It fueled the fire. It just fueled the fire," the HOF told us.

Slaughter also talked about Sheik's love for his family -- his wife and kids.

"He was a character. I was a character. But we both had families and we loved our families."

Tragically, Sheik lost one of his daughters in the early 2000s ... and despite missing his friend, Sgt. Slaughter, fighting back tears, says he's happy knowing he'll finally be reunited with his child.

"God bless him. He's finally gonna see his daughter that he lost. Love you Sheik. Love you forever."