Gossip / Rumors

Madonna is no drunk clown, despite reports she was wasted during a vaudeville-themed performance in Melbourne Thursday.

The singer drank just one Cosmo onstage, a rep tells TMZ.

Sources at the show tell us Madonna was merely clowning around, and her tipsy appearance was all part of the show's vibe. Fans clearly bought into it ... maybe too much ... because they thought her speech was slow and slurred as she talked about her ongoing custody battle with Guy Ritchie over Rocco.

She was about 2 hours late though. We're told that was because the clown act was brand new, and a one-time-only thing ... so Madge was rehearsing right up until she hit the stage.

Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill put all the breakup rumors to rest ... and maybe created some new buzz with one freaky social media post.

Nicki showed up on Meek's Snapchat Wednesday night -- the video looks like it's shot in his bedroom and he's definitely shirtless ... which means day 9 of house arrest seemed to go pretty well for Meek.

Meek's been on lockdown since the beginning of March. We're told Nicki flew to Philly on Wednesday morning. As we told you ... the couple had a blowout after she refused to move to Philly for the duration of Meek's 90-day sentence.

Bow Wow got the worst birthday present ever -- an egging, which his crew thinks came at the hands of his ex-girlfriend Keyshia Cole ... as breakup revenge.

Bow Wow tweeted early Wednesday that "one of his exes" egged two luxury cars parked outside his home -- fortunately for him, the culprit messed up and yolked his friend's rides. That friend posted pics of the damage and pointed the finger at Keyshia.

But Cole tells TMZ she had zero involvement in the incident, and called out Bow Wow on Twitter for "snitching."

Our sources tell us Bow Wow and his crew are adamant the egg hit was meant for Bow Wow, not his pal, and think Cole is retaliating against him for ending their relationship.

Mel Brooks swears he didn't mastermind a viral marketing scheme for "Spaceballs 2" by plastering posters in the NYC subway ... but he couldn't be happier it happened.

Brooks laughed off the rumors Sunday in Beverly Hills ... but says he's thrilled the flick is held in such high esteem by the youngins.

As for the long-awaited sequel -- Mel plays coy, but it's definitely on his mind.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were back together and sharing clothes Sunday while running errands around Santa Monica while their kids were in martial arts class.

Affleck gave his wife the gray crewneck off his back ... it was chilly in L.A. that morning, or maybe she just misses his smell.

They announced their split in June after Ben was linked to their nanny, but nothing's been finalized.

All signs are pointing to a reconciliation though.

The next 'Bachelorette' has yet to be announced, but there's a strong sign Ben Higgins reject Caila Quinn is getting the nod.

Quinn, who was eliminated from "The Bachelor" on Monday's episode, was spotted shooting something Wednesday around her hometown of Hudson, Ohio. Cameras followed her to local spots including her alma mater, Western Reserve Academy.

She was also seen sitting alone inside a gazebo looking pensively into the distance -- which has all the makings of a classic 'Bachelorette' intro scene.

We're told onlookers were asked to sign release forms to appear on television, and although the crew didn't specify what show they were shooting for ... there are reports Caila is the chosen one.

Katie Holmes casually posed for pics in NYC Thursday night as if no one would notice the gold ring on her ring finger ... on her left hand.

Katie was hanging with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Camila Alves -- and while there's no huge diamond set in it, the ring is getting a ton of attention ... possibly (okay, definitely) because of her longtime rumored boyfriend Jamie Foxx.

Jamie was also spotted wearing a gold band on his left hand the night before ... also in NYC.

But Foxx's rep tells TMZ they're not engagement or wedding rings. We're told Katie's ring isn't even a promise ring ... not from Jamie, anyway.

Still, things that make you go hmmm ...

He's been out of the league for 2 years, but don't close the book on Andrew Bynum's career -- because the 28-year-old says an NBA comeback could still be in the cards.

Bynum was leaving lunch at Crustacean in Bev Hills when we started talking about Baron Davis' comeback attempt with the Philadelphia 76ers D-League affiliate.

Will Smith and Jerry Bruckheimer have agreed to make "Bad Boys 3" ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected with both Bruckheimer and Smith tell TMZ, the 2 have talked for hours in the last 2 days -- 4 hours at dinner Tuesday night and a long lunch on Wednesday -- to hash out the terms of the contract. They also spent time working on the script.

We got Jerry coming out of the lunch, and he was vague about the project, but we know it's an unsigned done deal.

Kanye West is not jacking music and software off the Internet -- and the tweet he posted that suggests otherwise was all a setup to mess with haters.

Yeezy came under fire Tuesday when he posted a pic of a desktop monitor with a song by Sufjan Stevens ... only problem was, the other browser tabs were filled with sites used for illegal downloading.

Our Kanye sources say the whole thing was trolling -- 'Ye was in the studio Tuesday and thought it'd be funny to send out the pic. He's well aware 'TLOP' has been pirated more than 500k times, and while he'd never steal music ... he knew the Internet would have a field day.

More evidence of the trolling -- the monitor's a Samsung and it's well known Kanye's got a Mac laptop. Why would he illegally download programs on a computer that's not his?

He got what he wanted though ... the tweet pissed off not just random haters, but famous ones. Fellow Tidal artist Deadmau5 jumped all over Kanye for promoting piracy. West is laughing it off by cracking jokes about the DJ's mouse helmet.

Rob Gronkowski is a SINGLE MAN -- telling TMZ Sports his super hot date to the Oscars parties is just his friend ... meaning he's still free to bang whoever the hell he wants.

The woman who was on his arm Sunday night was Jordan Duffy -- a TV reporter/extremely hot lady.

But alas ... no relationship with Gronk, just friends. Sad.

Meanwhile, Gronk hit up a MOVIE PREMIERE Tuesday night -- rolling with his bros and his dad to the Westwood premiere of his brand new flick "You Can't Have It" ... in which Gronk cameos as a cop.

The whole Gronk squad was pumped for the movie -- with Rob joking about winning awards for the role ... and praising Joanna Krupa as a pretty awesome co-star.

Jerry Maren -- the last surviving 'Wizard of Oz' munchkin -- is keeping his title ... because he's alive and well.

There were multiple reports Monday 96-year-old Maren passed away after a bout with pancreatic cancer. But TMZ spoke with Steve Cox -- one of Maren's close friends -- who said he spoke with Jerry yesterday after the death reports ... and verified his pal's doing just fine.

Steve says Maren doesn't even have pancreatic cancer, and is well cared for by relatives in Southern California. He doesn't do appearances any more, but he's about as healthy as can be at 96.

Jerry is currently the last surviving actor still repping the Lollipop Guild.

Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill are on thin ice after a blowout fight over his impending house arrest.

Our sources say the friction surfaced after Meek tried pressuring Nicki to stay close when he goes into lockdown for 90 days for violating his probation on drug and gun charges. We're told Meek wanted Nicki to live with him in Philly during his house arrest.

We're told Nicki blanched at the notion, saying she would not put her life on hold because of his criminal issues, and that triggered a big fight that is still unresolved.

Nicki's been in L.A. this week ... and it's unclear when she's going back to Philly.

Our sources say Nicki and Meek fight a lot, but this one's bigger than the others.

Listen closely ... you can hear Drake snickering ...

Laura Prepon got grilled on a tough topic, and didn't hedge her answer when asked who she enjoyed kissing more -- Topher Grace from "That '70s Show" or Taylor Schilling from 'Orange Is the New Black.'

The "OITNB' star was on the "Todd & Jayde in the Morning" show on 95.5 in NYC when they raised the issue. It's the kind of question actors normally dance around answering because no one wants to burn a bridge -- but Laura was awesome.

She even threw in some oral hygiene secrets. Watch and learn ... who really knows how to swap spit.

Mariah Carey is not lazy, she just has fab shoes that KILL her feet.

Video surfaced this week of Mariah getting wheeled around Caesars Palace to her show at the Colosseum. People chalked it up to diva antics, but our sources say Mariah was a victim of what she calls "shoeicide" -- wearing shoes that are super fabulous, but murder on her feet.

We're told Mariah walks around in her shoes constantly, but on this occasion ... she simply couldn't do it anymore. So Mariah's staff concocted the rolling chair to help ease her foot pain.

Do you date, marry or kill Odell Beckham??

That's the question Zendaya had to answer during a live interview with radio legend Angie Martinez on Power 105.1 ... and you better believe he was paying attention to her answer.

Of course, the two have been sorta, kinda dating in real life -- with Zendaya's dad telling us the NFL star was still in the "interview" stage during a recent night out.

So, who was Odell's competition on date, marry, kill? Chris Brown and singer/actor Trevor Jackson.

Check out Zendaya's answer ... wonder if Odell is stoked or disappointed?