Fired

The Dollar General cashier who took down an alleged shoplifter with her car says she's been fired after footage of the incident went viral.

The ex-Dollar General employee in the wild video is Jessie Sotto and she tells TMZ ... she's upset about her firing because she loved her job, and thought she was a good cashier who had her former employer's best interests at heart.

Jessie, who was a criminal justice major in college, says the alleged shoplifter had been a known problem at her Fresno, CA store ... ignoring prior warnings to stop stealing. She says she'd finally had enough, and decided to take matters into her own hands.

As we reported ... doorbell footage shows Jessie smashing her car into the alleged shoplifter while he was riding a bike down a residential street, with the crash scattering the alleged stolen items all over someone's front yard.

The incident went down earlier this month, and Jessie says once the video was on the internet she was canned.

Jessie claims the guy walked out with flowers, chips, donuts, bread, cheese, bologna and other items without paying ... and says she chased him down and asked him to give the stuff back. When he refused and called her a "bitch," Jessie says she tried to stop him with her car.

The guy in the video threatened to press charges against Jessie, but she says she hasn't seen or heard from him and police tell us they responded to the scene but the guy was nowhere to be found so no report was taken.

The frustration in her voice is clear ... and Jessie is now working for DoorDash.

Kanye West is full steam ahead on his presidential campaign, bringing his former collaborator Milo Yiannopoulos back into the mix, and their first order of business ... firing Ye's controversial right-hand man, Nick Fuentes.

TMZ obtained emails sent from Milo -- now officially YE2024's Director of Political Operations -- to Nick, and in one he says, "Your services on Ye’s exploratory team are terminated ... and will not be required for any possible future campaign."

You'll recall, Nick is the white nationalist who accompanied West during his trip to see Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last fall.

Milo also fired off an exit email to Ali Alexander, another one of Ye's political advisors, who was recently forced to apologize after being accused of asking teenage boys for sexual pictures.

We reached out to Milo, and he confirmed the details in the e-mails. He also says he's been in L.A. for the past week, talking to Ye about his presidential aspirations.

You'll recall, Milo was reportedly removed from the campaign team last year after Ye's controversial interview with Alex Jones ... and he reportedly blamed Nick and Ali for his firing.

Now that Milo's back in the saddle, it would seem his next mission is finding out just how serious Ye is about running for the White House -- and, after that, addressing the antisemitism West spewed for months.

Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News, and now another conservative news outlet, Newsmax, wants him to be more than just the face of the network, and it's putting on a full-court press to land him.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the news channel is doing everything it can to sweeten the deal for Tucker to come on board -- including floating the idea of letting him program the whole channel, not just his own show.

That would be a pretty enticing deal point ... in addition to having his own primetime show, Tucker would have a say over what shows lead into and out of his show, which can be key in achieving bigger TV ratings.

While our sources stress Newsmax hasn't formally offered Tucker a job -- he can't have formal discussions due to his current Fox News contract -- we're told the network execs have made it clear to people around him, they would basically give him a big say in rebranding their channel.

Newsmax has some competition for Tucker ... as we first reported, NewsNation is showing early interest as well.

Our sources acknowledge it's too early to know for sure where Tucker will pop up next, and it might not even be at a TV network ... but we're told whatever he does, it's going to be big, disruptive, and will create a seismic shift in the conservative media landscape.

The "f***ing c***" barb that ex-ESPN reporter Marly Rivera hurled at a female journalist earlier this month was captured on video ... and in the footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see it all went down right in front of Aaron Judge.

The incident -- which resulted in ESPN firing Rivera from her role as a national baseball reporter earlier this week -- happened on April 18 at Yankee Stadium ... just before New York took on the Los Angeles Angels in the Bronx.

According to the New York Post, Rivera had set up an interview with Judge ... but grew frustrated when freelance reporter Ivón Gaete showed up at the same time looking to speak with the Yankees superstar as well.

The video shows Rivera got so livid with Gaete -- who the Post reported had been at the stadium to cover Angels star Shohei Ohtani for Tokyo Broadcasting -- she began to raise her voice at the woman in Spanish ... as Judge signed autographs and posed for pics with fans just feet away.

At one point, Rivera rolled her eyes and called Gaete a "f***ing c***."

Gaete was clearly taken aback by the remark -- and asked a nearby camera person if they had caught it on video.

The two reporters then lingered around Judge for several moments. When he finally left the area, it seemed Rivera wanted to apologize ... but it didn't appear Gaete was willing to accept it.

ESPN said on Wednesday it had parted ways with Rivera following the encounter. Rivera, meanwhile, told the Post she fully accepted responsibility for her actions.

"There were extenuating circumstances but that in no way is an excuse for my actions," Rivera said. "I am a professional with a sterling reputation across baseball and I do believe that I am being singled out by a group of individuals with whom I have a long history of professional disagreements."

Rivera has since deleted her social media pages.

Ya gotta imagine Don Lemon and Kim Kardashian have plenty to catch up about -- like possible new career paths -- and they got into it at the Time100 Gala.

Kim and Don were deep in discussion Wednesday night in NYC ... along with Don's longtime partner Tim Malone, who was all smiles. We're guessing his sudden departure from CNN, and her saying she'd leave reality TV to be a full-time lawyer were hot topics for them.

Kim buzzed around a lot at the event ... bumping into Salma Hayek, Gayle King, and Padma Lakshmi.

As for Don, he certainly didn't look down in the dumps about his firing. As we reported, he looked pretty chill and happy throughout the night. Hey, no alarm clock going off before dawn can change your life!

Don also told TIME he's gonna have the summer of a 12-year-old, laying on the beach with Tim. He was even asked what kind of influence he thinks he's left at CNN -- a question he redirects to his former colleagues.

And as you know, Kim revealed earlier this week ... she'd ditch TV to become a lawyer full-time, saying she's already passed the baby bar and plans to take the real bar in 2025.

FYI -- Kim was named one of TIME's Most Influential People of 2015, and last year SKIMS made its list of Most Influential Companies.

Don Lemon doesn't look down in the dumps over being out of a job ... in fact, it's quite the opposite.

Don was all smiles Wednesday at the Time100 Gala in New York City, mugging for the cameras despite his recent firing from CNN.

While Don lost his high-paying job Monday after 17 years at the cable news outlet, he's got a support system to fall back on ... he was joined at Wednesday's event by his longtime partner, Tim Malone, and they both appeared in great spirits.

Fact is, Don's going to have options in TV news despite his CNN ouster ... as we first reported, NewsNation is interested in adding Don to a growing roster of high-profile anchors.

Don, we're told, was making about $7 million a year at CNN ... and our sources say NewsNation would be comfortable offering him a seven-figure salary.

In other words, Don doesn't have too much to worry about even though he's unemployed ... and it looks like he's confident he's going to land on his feet.

Don Lemon has a new job option if he wants it -- and it would entail him dipping poultry into boiling hot cooking oil ... under the supervision of one of Rick Ross's managers, no less.

The rapper hopped on the 'Gram Monday to air his thoughts on the news of DL's unceremonious firing from CNN ... and he was more than ready to dance on the guy's grave a bit, 'cause he offered him a new gig at one of his many Wing Stop franchises.

Rozay says he can personally make sure Don gets an interview in front of his top chicken team members. The only thing he's asking the ex-anchor to do ... send a resume. Sounds like Rick's sold on Don's potential ability to hawk a certain flavor of pollo -- take a guess.

He's obviously trolling here ... but that's not the end of his ribbing. Rick goes on to suggest Don can be the face (or name, more like) of a new flavor of his energy drink line -- Rap Star.

Again, he leans into Don's surname a lot to make this joke work ... and yeah, it lands.

While Rick is kidding in his pitch to Don ... we know there's a very real news network he could work for if he's inclined. As we reported, NewsNation execs are interested in bringing him onto the team -- not to mention the recently discarded Tucker Carlson from FOX News.

Don Lemon is out at CNN, after 17 years at the network, a move he says he was never given any heads-up was happening.

In a statement Monday, Lemon said, "I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned. After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly."

He continues, "At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network. It is clear that there are some larger issues at play."

Finally saying, "With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best."

Don was on air Monday morning, without a hint that anything might be off, and ending his show with the words, "Bye, everyone."

The move comes just 2 months after Lemon was benched briefly for sexist comments he made about Nikki Haley, when he said she was no longer "in her prime" at age 51.

He was also recently caught on a hot mic making comments about Jon Stewart ... however, it seemed those incidents had both cooled off with the network.

Unclear if there was something more happening behind the scenes.

Tyre Nichols' family is suing over his fatal beating at the hands of Memphis police ... drawing parallels with what happened to Emmett Till.

According to a new federal lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Tyre's family compares his death to the infamous 1955 killing of Emmett, saying Tyre, like Till, suffered a beating from the "hands of a modern-day lynch mob."

The Nichols family is going after the City of Memphis, Police Chief Cerelyn Davis and the officers involved in Tyre's brutal beating.

The suit claims Tyre's death was the "direct and foreseeable product of the unconstitutional policies, practices, customs, and deliberate indifference" from Memphis and its police chief.

As you know ... Tyre died in January, three days after a brutal beating at the hand of five Memphis police officers, all of whom were fired and charged with second-degree murder.

Tyre's family is also suing a sixth officer who was fired but not charged, plus three members of the Memphis Fire Department who responded to the scene but allegedly failed to render aid to Tyre.

F. Murray Abraham, who's starred in "White Lotus" and "Homeland," faced sexual misconduct allegations on another hit show ... and it was so serious, it reportedly cost him his job.

Abraham got the boot from Apple TV+'s "Mythic Quest" about a year ago, but the reason for his departure was never revealed. Now, a new report in Rolling Stone magazine says the firing was due to 2 alleged incidents of the actor harassing, at the very least, female costars or crew members.

According to the report, Abraham was given a warning after one incident ... and was told to stay away from some of his female costars. Sources say a second incident later went down and when the show creator and star Rob McElhenny found out, Abraham was dropped.

Abraham played C.W. Longbottom, the pretentious head game writer at Mythic Quest HQ. His absence first went into effect at the beginning of season 3, and a send-off for the character was written into the show -- something McElhenny told Variety was "a really fitting tribute to him."

Lionsgate, which produces "Mythic Quest," tells TMZ ... "We take allegations of misconduct seriously and investigate them thoroughly.  As a matter of corporate policy, we do not discuss personnel actions.”

More bad news for Willie McGinest ... the Patriots legend is now reportedly out of his job at NFL Network -- nearly four months after he attacked a man at an L.A. restaurant.

McGinest had been serving an indefinite suspension from his role as an NFLN analyst over the Dec. 9 beatdown at Delilah ... but, according to Front Office Sports, he was officially let go this week as part of the network's recent wave of big cuts.

We've reached out to NFL Network for comment ... but so far, no word back yet.

Of course, McGinest's job status is likely the least of his worries at the moment -- he's still facing two felony charges in the case that carry serious prison time if he's convicted on both counts.

He's also been sued by the alleged victim, who claimed he suffered serious and permanent injuries in the melee.

For his part, 51-year-old McGinest said he was sorry for his actions at the restaurant ... saying, "I feel horrible for my actions and take full responsibility."

It didn't take long for Chris Beard to land a new job -- the ex-Texas Longhorns head coach is taking the same position at Ole Miss ... one month after his domestic violence case was dropped.

The Rebels made the news official on Monday ... saying Beard will replace Kermit Davis, who was fired late last month.

"We thoroughly evaluated a number of outstanding candidates, and there is no doubt Coach Beard is one of the top coaches in the nation," Keith Carter, Ole Miss' Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics, said in a statement. "After conducting due diligence and speaking to a number of individuals on and off the court, it was evident he is the right person to guide our team to greatness."

Beard was accused of strangling, throwing and biting his fiancée, Randi Trew, in their home back in December. He was arrested and immediately suspended from coaching, but the woman later backtracked on her claims ... and said Beard was only acting out of self-defense.

Despite the woman's public apology over her initial accusations, Beard was fired from UT in January ... and his attorney stated the decision was "based on Twitter feeds and editorials -- and not the facts concerning a truly innocent man."

Beard's case was dismissed last month ... with prosecutors saying after investigating and speaking with the victim, "the felony offense cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

Beard -- who's 171-73 in his career as a head coach -- seems thrilled with the second chance at leading a sideline ... saying, "I am honored to be joining the Ole Miss family and excited to get started at this great university."

Billy Bush thinks T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach clearly have something good between them, not just romantically but from a business standpoint ... so maybe a new show should be in their future -- so says Bush, who had a walk in the same shoes a few years ago.

We got the "Extra" host at LAX Thursday, and he says it's a shame they got the boot from ABC.

Billy might be the perfect person to give advice to T.J. and Amy ... as you know, NBC's "Today" pulled the plug on him back in 2016 after an infamous video/audio leaked of him and Donald Trump from back in 2005 -- laughing on a hot mic while Trump bragged about groping women.

Our photog asked Billy if he's learned his lesson about talking on a hot mic -- remember he was dragged for joking about Kendall Jenner's Halloween costume -- one where she dressed up as Jessie from "Toy Story" and there were "a lot of woodies," according to him.

Billy is unbothered, saying he will stay true to himself, whatever people think, and he clearly believes lots of folks in this country share that point of view.

Trae Young will have a new head coach ... the Atlanta Hawks have just fired Nate McMillan.

The team confirmed the coach's dismissal on Tuesday afternoon ... with general manager Landry Fields saying in a statement, "it's in the best interest of our team to move forward with another voice leading the way."

McMillan had been in control of the team since the 2020-21 season, when he took over as interim head coach. He piled up a record of 99-80 in his time as head man -- though ATL was just 29-30 under his leadership this year.

The team said Joe Prunty will take over for McMillan the rest of this season.

After that, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hawks are expected to take a long look at former Utah Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder for the full-time role.

McMillan's dismissal comes just weeks after reports surfaced that he and Young's relationship had been deteriorating ... following a conflict with the superstar in December.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Trae skipped a shootaround at the time to get treatment for shoulder soreness he was experiencing ... which rubbed McMillan wrong.

The coach eventually called the incident between him and the point guard a "miscommunication" ... but Young was clearly upset with the situation when he spoke about it all with reporters in the ensuing days.

Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes can't keep their lips to themselves down in Mexico ... their getaway south of the border keeps heating up, with some steamy PDA by the beach.

The former 'GMA3' cohosts enjoyed a romantic stroll along the coast in Puerto Vallarta, showing off their toned beach bodies and kicking back with some cold cervezas at an oceanfront bar.

Amy soaked up the sun in a black bikini as she walked arm in arm with a topless T.J. ... and by the time they threw back a couple Pacificos at the cantina, they couldn't hold back any longer and started making out.

The lovebirds shared a bunch of laughs too ... and they're definitely putting the fun in funemployment.

Remember ... Amy and T.J. recently excited ABC with nice little payouts from their contracts after their affair forced them off the air ... and they've spent the last week locking lips all over Puerto Vallarta.

As we first told you, Amy and T.J. popped up in Mexico on Wednesday, attached at the hip as they strolled the streets, shopping and even stopping to talk with fans.

Preston Hemphill, the white Memphis police officer involved in the Tyre Nichols arrest who is heard on body cam footage wishing Tyre harm, has just been fired.

The Memphis Police Department announced Hemphill's firing in a Friday news dump ... and he has not been criminally charged in connection with Tyre's death.

Hemphill was one of the first officers to confront Tyre during the fateful January. 7 traffic stop ... and he's alleged to have used his Taser on Tyre.

Hemphill's body cam footage shows him chasing Nichols on foot ... and he's twice heard saying, "I hope they stomp his a**."

As you know ... Tyre was later confronted by 5 Black cops, who used pepper spray and beat him so badly he complained of shortness of breath and ended up in a hospital, where 3 days later he died.

The 5 Black officers ... Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith ... were fired before Hemphill, and they've been charged with second-degree murder.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Tyre's family, has been questioning why Hemphill is not being prosecuted.

In a statement, Memphis PD says they conducted a thorough review of Tyre's arrest and determined Hemphill violated multiple department policies, including personal conduct, truthfulness and not using his Taser properly.

Meanwhile, a 7th Memphis PD officer who was involved in the arrest is on administrative leave ... but the officer's identity has not been publicly revealed.