Fights & Feuds

Erica Mena won't be on MTV's waves anymore, 'cause she called a Black woman a monkey on one of their biggest reality shows ... and the network's fired her over it.

The longtime 'Love & Hip Hop' fixture was cut loose from her current iteration of the popular show -- this according to the official 'Love & Hip Hop' account itself ... which just announced her departure Saturday.

The message reads, "The Love & Hip Hop franchise has never shied away from hard conversations in our community. Working hand-in-hand with our partners, viewers will see the impact of Erica Mena's remarks play out in the final three episodes of the season."

They add, "Effective immediately, she will not appear in the next season of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta." It's unclear if this means Erica won't/can't appear in other 'L&HH' series ... there are a lot of versions of it, and she's bounced around from coast to coast since way back in 2011 -- when she first started to appear in the franchise.

The news comes on the heels of a recent episode that aired, showing Erica fighting with fellow costar Spice -- with whom she gets into it over fractured family dynamics ... and whether her son loves her or not. Spice suggested he didn't ... and it sent EM into a rage.

During the brouhaha -- which saw Erica flip a table -- Erica called Spice a monkey ... and that appeared to rub people the wrong way on set. BTW, Spice is Black ... and Erica is Afro-Latina, coming from Puerto Rican/Dominican ancestry ... which complicates this a bit.

Anyway, that exchange drew a lot of backlash, with many calling for Erica's job ... and it sounds like the 'L&HH' honchos have given in to their demands. Strangely enough, now their decision is catching some flak as well ... as some argue the whole thing feels calculated.

Namely, many are accusing 'L&HH' producers of being exploitative -- having had this footage for a while, airing/marketing it for views ... and seemingly only responding to the public reaction. In any case ... Erica's out of there -- capping off a turbulent 2 weeks for her.

Remember, she was just arrested a little while ago for a brawl at an Atlanta club that allegedly resulted in her attacking police officers. Other 'L&HH' stars were busted too.

Many athletes and celebs have stepped up in a huge way in the wake of the devastating wildfires in Maui ... and perhaps none more so than Bellator MMA star Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, who raised over $2 MILLION on Instagram!

TMZ Sports spoke with the Honolulu native this week as the area is still reeling from fires that killed at least 115 people, with hundreds still unaccounted for. The people who fortunately escaped with their lives are still dealing with property loss, in some cases everything, including their homes.

"We have hit the $2.6 million mark and this is just on Instagram alone," Macfarlane said.

"The beautiful thing that I love so much about this fundraiser is that it wasn't big corporations or big huge donors, it was literally people."

Macfarlane also gives credit to a few celebrities for sharing the fund, including Bretman Rock, Meghan Trainor, and Jason Momoa.

Now, the challenge is getting the money to those who need it ... which can be a difficult job.

"I haven't raised that much for my nonprofit before so I am collaborating with other agencies to make sure it's distributed equitably and efficiently."

Macfarlane also revealed she's teamed up with Bellator to replace gym equipment and training gear at local dojos. They're also inviting a family to Ilima-Lei's upcoming title fight in San Diego.

Speaking of her fight with mentor Liz Carmouche (Bellator 300 on October 7), Macfarlane says it's a bout she's always wanted but hasn't been able to enjoy the lead-up to the event because of the situation in Hawaii.

"It was a super scary time and it was actually weird timing because [the fires] happened the day that we announced my title fight," Macfarlane said.

"I just couldn't be happy. I couldn't be excited for this super awesome fight that I've wanted for so long just because of what was going on."

Mobb Deep's hit "Shook Ones Pt. II" has stood the test of time for nearly 30 years but the iconic record could've had a tragic legacy ... according to Havoc, who's revealing he survived a near-fatal fight when they shot the music video.

The Surviving Mobb Deep member recalled the wild moment for Vevo's "Footnotes" channel -- he says he got into a fight with a guy from the neighborhood who felt like he wasn't getting enough screen time in the video.

Hav says they started fighting and fell into a puddle, only for one of the camera crew's lights to fall into the water and drastically increase chances they'd be electrocuted.

Mobb Deep hail from the Queensbridge projects in Queens, N.Y. -- an historically rough place, which they detail in much of their catalog, but thankfully cooler heads prevailed.

Havoc tells TMZ Hip Hop ... he settled things up with the guy he was squabbling with, and they still remain friends to this day!!!

The song went on to be dubbed an all-time classic, earning placements in multiple video games and most infamously, the closing scene from Eminem's "8 Mile" film.

UFC fighter Natan Levy is hoping bullies everywhere take serious note of his recent beatdown of an internet troll ... saying on Tuesday he wants anyone who's even thinking of spewing hate speech going forward to know "words have consequences."

Levy absolutely mauled a smack-talking social media user named Ben recently ... after the guy had defended noted antisemite Nick Fuentes in an exchange on X.

Levy, who's Jewish, met the dude at his gym and pounded on him for several minutes -- forcing the guy to tap out.

Eventually, he got Ben to say on camera following the sparring sesh that six million people were murdered in the Holocaust -- an atrocity Ben didn't previously acknowledge.

When Levy joined Harvey and Charles on Tuesday's "TMZ Live" to talk about it all ... he said he was pleased with how it turned out with Ben -- and now, he wants others to keep the incident in mind before they hit their keyboards with similar nonsense.

"The big lesson I wanted to teach this guy -- and hopefully everybody who is watching -- is words have consequences," he said. "Actions have consequences."

"If you say something, you better stand behind it," he added, "'cause this hate turns into hate in the real world. So we need to cut it off."

"Kid, you have no idea how much money you're gonna make."

That's what UFC president Dana White told "Suga" Sean O'Malley as the newly crowned champion stood in the Octagon with the UFC honcho after defeating the great Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292.

28-year-old O'Malley joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on Friday ... and chopped it up about all things Aljo, how life's changed since becoming champ, reaching Conor McGregor levels of fame, his offer to train Henry Cejudo in wrestling, and what he wants next!

"Chito was acting like he earned a title shot. I think he even tweeted he was the most exciting bantamweight which is just bonkers. I don't know how he sees that. He needs to settle down a little bit, cause I do have options.

"Henry, I pretend like is an option, realistically it's not. He lost his last fight. Alexandre Pantoja, the 125 lb. champ, throwing my name out there a little bit. That's an option. Merab's an option. I might just wait for Cory [Sandhagen] if Chito's gonna act like he earned a title shot."

FYI, Sean and Chito have history. The men fought in 2020, and Vera won. It's O'Malley's lone career loss.

(We also talked to Chito about his win over Pedro, and a possible fight with Suga.)

Sean says there's a way for Vera to lock down the fight, but it'll involve eating a little crow first and saying something along the lines of ... "Ya know what Suga, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I didn't deserve it. I didn't earn it, but I appreciate you.

"If he came at it like that I would think about it more. But the fact that he's tweeting, 'I earned that' and stuff, it's throwing me off a bit. I got options. I'm not too worried about it."

Of course, Sean dropped Aljamain with a perfectly placed straight right about 30 seconds into the second round, and after some effective ground and pound, the fight was stopped by ref Marc Goddard ... and just like that, O'Malley was Bantamweight champion.

As for how life has changed ... Sean says while he was a star before winning the title, he's now more than just a big deal amongst MMA fans.

"I kind of had everything-ish before 'champ status,' but definitely getting recognized way more in public by random people you wouldn't think were fight fans. The casuals that don't watch the fight, watched that fight," Suga said.

Speaking of fame and making money ... we also talked to Sean about acting (he's received movie offers) and whether he believes he will ever fight Aljo again.

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann seemed like a couple on the mend from the outside -- but were fighting nonstop behind closed doors -- before one fight sent Kroy over the edge, causing him to file for divorce once again.

Sources close to the estranged couple tell us ... Kim and Kroy had been arguing for several weeks about money before Thursday's filing ... and things had gotten "nasty." As for specifics ... we're told each has been on the other's case about not paying various bills. They blame each other for their serious financial mess. As one source said, "They've gotten ridiculously petty over who hasn't paid bills. They're counting down to pennies."

We're told Kroy was regularly threatening to file for divorce. However, it was during a fight Thursday morning when Kroy threatened once again to file for divorce, Kim dared him ... so he did.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim and Kroy filed separate divorce petitions back in May,but had a change of heart in July -- pulling their divorce filings.

At the time, we were told they still really loved each other and could work things out -- leaning on religion to help get them through -- but clearly, things soured.

Kroy's asking for sole legal and physical of their 4 minor children as well as child support, alimony and attorney's fees.

The Miz has clearly had enough of LA Knight and his mouth ... the WWE Superstar sent a very ominous warning to his rival -- stop disrespecting me, or get hurt.

TMZ Sports ran into The Miz in Los Angeles on Thursday -- prior to the tragic news of Bray Wyatt's passing -- and asked him about the budding feud with Knight, who we referred to as "popular."

"Popular? So popular that you're following him into the store?" Miz sarcastically asked.

"So popular that last year at SoFi [Stadium] at WrestleMania in LA, the guy's name is LA Night. He named himself after the city and he wasn't even on the show. That's how popular he is."

The multiple-time WWE champ continued ... "He's a fad. He's like a Napster, MySpace, Vanilla Ice, LA Night, they're all synonymous."

Of course, The Miz and LA Knight have been trading barbs on Raw. Knight has accused Miz of being washed up, and the longtime WWE star responded by describing LA as a "blip on the radar."

In other words, he ain't 💩💩💩!!!

In fact, Miz says he doesn't understand why people even care about Knight (and do they ever care -- he's huge right now with the fans).

"Honestly, I can't believe people are talking about him. He's a fad ... and I'm just sick of his, I don't know. I don't wanna do it right here, right now but it's like if he keeps disrespecting me the way he's disrespected me, he's not gonna make it to WrestleMania in Philly. Let's put it that way."

Those sounded like fighting words ... so, we asked ... "Is that a threat or challenge?"

"It's a promise!"

Kroy Biermann and Kim Zolciak just ain't meant to be -- after filing for and then calling off their divorce  -- Kroy has filed for divorce against Kim once again.

Kroy filed the divorce papers Thursday, obtained by TMZ, stating their marriage is "irretrievably broken." He wants sole legal and sole physical custody of their 4 kids moving forward, and is asking for child support as well as alimony.

What's more ... Kroy's asking for exclusive use of the marital residence, the same home he and Kim have shared through their ups and downs.

TMZ broke the story, Kim and Kroy filed separate divorce petitions back in May ... and it got nasty fast. Kim accused Kroy of smoking weed -- and being a potential danger to their kids -- and he said she had a serious gambling addiction. It was also discovered the couple owed more than $1 million to the IRS.

The two also had home visits from the police -- hurling accusations at each other while officers were on scene.

Kim and Kroy remained in the same home during their divorce proceedings, but had a change of heart in July when they decided to pull the divorce docs.

Leading up to the decision to pull back their divorce, we'd seen the family attend church together and other family events.

Jacquees says Ella Mai still hasn't forgiven him for covering her 2018 R&B smash "Trip" ... with all the evidence on his social media -- he's been blocked!!!

The notorious song remixer shared his truth with "The Baller Alert Show" podcast Wednesday ... revealing Ella spoke to him for the first time in years at this year's Roc Nation Brunch, yet still doesn't want any parts of him on IG and Twitter.

Jacquees infamously earned a cease-and-desist from Ella's label when he released his unsanctioned "Trip" remix to enormous popularity ... with many fans claiming it was better than the original version.

Jacquees recalls Ella being a bright-eyed young fan back then ... remembering her even camping out backstage while he was on tour with Chris Brown just to meet him.

He blamed her negative reaction on her newness to the industry at the time ... but also owned up that his self-appointed "King of R&B" title may have caused some backlash on himself all the same!!!

Under the category, NEVER SAY NEVER -- Britney Spears is seriously talking about reconciling with the man she wanted put in jail over her conservatorship ... her dad, Jamie Spears.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... since Britney's split with Sam Asghari 3 weeks ago, Britney has been saying she wants to repair the relationship with her dad. She knows Jamie has been ill -- in and out of the hospital for months, and doesn't want the regret of waiting too long.

We've learned Jamie was in the hospital several months ago when doctors believed there was something wrong with his kidneys. Turns out the real issue was his knees ... he had a knee replacement 16 years ago and somehow he developed a terrible infection.

Jamie is going under the knife again Friday, where doctors will mess with the metal in his knees and try to clear the infection. Through it all, he's lost more than 25 pounds and is extremely thin.

We know the only family member she's currently in touch with is her brother Bryan, who has spent time recently at her home. We're told Bryan has filled her in on their dad's condition.

As for Jamie, our sources say he'd love a reconciliation with his daughter. We're told he's never harbored ill will toward her, despite all the things Britney said about him both in and out of court. Jamie learned Tuesday Britney was talking reconciliation, and we're told he was elated.

Justin Verlander was so pissed at Alex Cora during their game Tuesday night, he straight up told the Red Sox manager to "f*** off" ... and the heated dispute was all captured on a hot mic!!

The Astros ace had been dealing with some PitchCom issues during the second inning of Houston's tilt with Boston at Minute Maid Park ... and he needed a break from the action to get it all squared away.

But, when Cora thought he was taking advantage of the situation to avoid a pitch-clock violation ... he came out to argue -- and the two then got into it.

"You shook him off five times!" Cora could be heard telling the right-hander.

"I didn't shake that at-bat!" Verlander fired back. "I didn't shake that at-bat! F*** off, Alex!"

The situation was so unique, one of the game's announcers could be heard on the broadcast letting out a loud chuckle.

Ultimately, Verlander would go on to get the last laugh in the situation ... 'cause once he returned to the pitching rubber, he shoved -- going six strong innings while allowing no earned runs and striking out nine.

The war between Magic Johnson and Norm Nixon on HBO's "Winning Time" was blown way out of proportion ... so says one-half of the former Lakers duo, who tells TMZ Sports that's not how it went down in real life.

Season two of the hit show has been largely centered around the terrible relationship between the veteran point guard, Nixon, and Johnson, the team's young star. One scene even depicted Michael Cooper breaking up a locker room fight between the players.

So, when we saw the 2x All-Star outside LAX on Monday, we asked him whether the show got things factually correct.

"Naw," Nixon responded ... "Not even close."

Norm, who is portrayed by his son, DeVaughn Nixon, isn't the only former Lake Show star who isn't exactly a big fan of the hit show.

In fact, we recently talked to Hall of Famer James Worthy ... who doesn't count himself as a viewer.

"I just think [Winning Time] could have been done really, really good. And I was disappointed that it wasn't," Worthy told us.

Back to Norm, we also asked the 2x NBA championship-winning PG about Steph Curry's recent claim that he was the greatest point guard ever.

Nixon averaged nearly 16 points, 8+ assists, and 1.5 steals a game over his 10-season NBA career. He obviously also played with Magic (who he didn't hate ).

If you expect Mark Zuckerberg to fight a professional fighter and get slaughtered, you may be in for a rude awakening ... ONE Championship star Mikey Musumeci has trained with the Meta boss on several occasions, and says Zuck would 100% win a fight.

"I was pretty shocked. [Mark's] a grinder. He has that grind in him. The second I saw that I said, 'Okay, he can be very good at MMA or jiu-jitsu' because first of all, he has the highest IQ, but he's also tough as f***!" Mikey told TMZ Sports.

It's high praise coming from Musumeci ... a 5x IBJJF world champion and current ONE Championship flyweight grappling champ. He's quite literally the best in the world!

Mikey and Mark are friends who not only train together ... but also talk when they aren't working out.

We doubled down ... asking Musumeci if he really believed Zuck could "hang with a professional fighter?"

"100%. 100%, and I think he could win."

Of course, we asked Mikey the question because all signs point to Zuckerberg, now that the Elon Musk fight is seemingly done, fighting against an actual pro fighter in a top MMA promotion.

"Not holding my breath for Elon, but I'll share details on my next fight when I'm ready," Mark said on Threads.

"When I compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game. You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card."

There's more ... we also talked to ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong -- who is also friends with Mark -- about the billionaire's foray into MMA.

Dana White says he's sure Mark Zuckerberg wants to take a fight in the UFC -- and, get this, he tells TMZ he's definitely not opposed to making the Meta boss' wish a reality.

White joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" on Thursday to preview this weekend's big UFC 292 card ... but before he talked Sean O'Malley vs. Aljamain Sterling -- he spilled the beans on what he knew about the failed Zuck vs. Elon Musk matchup.

He said both guys were dead serious about brawling ... but when Elon wanted to go more of an informal route with the bout -- Zuck decided to pull away.

"He and I talk multiple times a week," White said of Zuckerberg. "And we had dinner last Monday. He's very serious about competing. And when he mentioned it, he said -- listen -- what he was saying in response to Elon was there are tons of professional organizations out there and this is the way this should be done, not in some backyard or whatever Elon was saying."

He added that Zuck understood the fight would have to be sanctioned by an athletic commission, there would need to be proper medical testing and drug testing ... and when Elon didn't seem to get that -- he said Zuckerberg pivoted.

As for what's now next for Zuck ... White told the guys "I would say he is absolutely interested" in battling it out with a UFC fighter in White's org.

And, Dana said it's a possibility he makes it all happen.

But, until then, White's in Boston getting ready for a helluva fight on Saturday night between O'Malley and Sterling.

Britney Spears got physical with Sam Asghari over the years, he's told people, once giving him a black eye while he was sleeping ... sources tell TMZ.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ...  Sam frequently complained about Britney getting physical with him during their 7 years together. We're told there have been numerous fights where security has had to step in, but in one instance there was no security in sight.

Our sources say there was one occasion where Sam says he was sleeping in their bed when Britney flew off the handle and began punching him. We're told Sam did not strike back, but was stunned as his wife pummeled him.

We're told that alleged incident went down early this year, right around the time Sam was photographed with a black eye and bite marks on his forearm.

Paparazzi noticed the bruising and tried to ask Sam about it, but he tried to play it off ... asking photogs not to shoot him.

Our sources say Sam was particularly concerned because Britney had a fascination with knives. We're told there were knives all over the house, including in their bedroom. Britney, as one source put it, "was paranoid someone was going to get her, and she needed the knives as protection." The sources add Britney tended to "fly off the handle" at the smallest slight, and that terrified Sam.

As we first told you, Sam and Britney got into a huge argument a few weeks ago when he accused her of cheating, and that's what triggered his divorce filing. But, we're told that was simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

Ne-Yo is insisting he maintains a healthy relationship with the 3 women with whom he shares his 7 children ... and he says the secret to being stress-free is an easy one: parents aren't allowed to sling mud in front of the kids.

The R&B star broke down his reasoning to former video vixen Gloria Valez in a podcast clip Thursday, explaining any headlines he and his exes make bickering could possibly affect the children down the line, so they refrain from doing so.

Ne-Yo shares 3 children with ex-wife Crystal Renay, 2 with ex-fiancée Monyetta Shaw and 2 with ex-girlfriend Sadé Jenea ... but says everyone gets along ... as the kids refer to their half-siblings' mothers as the "extra moms."

He credits his mother and sister for upholding his support system in raising the kids — but isn't shy about dealing with the occasional friction. Baby mothers and fathers are known to mirror immovable forces and unstoppable objects, after all.

Crystal and Ne-Yo have been showing positive PDA as of late, despite ending their union and Ne-Yo's new dilemma is convincing his kids to adjust to his fame.