Health

Jason Miller -- crew member on Alec Baldwin's "Rust" -- is still recovering from a gnarly spider bite he got on set ... but says he's made some great progress in his recovery.

Jason tells TMZ ... he's still dealing with severe pain. As we reported, he was bitten by a venomous brown recluse spider while in NM shooting the film. The bite sent Jason to the hospital, where doctors talked about amputation -- luckily that wasn't necessary.

Jason tells us he's taking huge steps towards recovery ... but there are still challenges. He can't lay down without his shoulder getting inflamed, making it hard to sleep at night.

He also has a problem with range of motion ... unable to raise his arm above his head or reach behind his back, making it pretty difficult to do everyday tasks.

A GoFundMe was created shortly after he was hospitalized -- currently sitting at $14,600. Jason says the money has been a huge weight off his back ... putting $3K towards renting a new home and the rest going to savings ... since it's uncertain when he'll work again.

Jason was able to get worker's comp from the insurance company associated with "Rust" ... something we previously reported was a point of contention.

Mama June's ex, Geno Doak, seems to be turning his life around, and taking a lot of weight off his shoulders, literally ... cause he's lost around 70 pounds!!!

Geno tells TMZ ... when he and June split up last August he was around 285 lbs. Fast forward 6 months, and he's down to a much slimmer 215 lbs., and he's crediting his time in rehab for the healthy turnaround.

Geno says the treatment facility he's in has helped him stay on track with getting fit. He tells us the folks there prepare his meals, which also keeps him on a better eating schedule.

As far as eating out and snacking at night, Geno says that's a thing of the past. He says he now eats a lot healthier, cutting out foods like pasta and bread. Instead, he's eating a lot more tuna and chicken.

He's also trying to work out more, but says eating better was the biggest reason for his amazing results.

As we first told you ... Geno checked into rehab last September, after he tried to take his own life by chasing 90 blood pressure pills with lots of booze. After the incident, Mama June actually recommended a rehab center in South Carolina.

Louis Tomlinson is ready and willing to pump the brakes on his live shows if one of his fans goes down, and after a Minneapolis show ... it's evident his security is also ready to react quickly.

The former One Direction member put on a sold-out show Thursday night, and as he neared the end of the show -- singing his hit, "Walls" -- he looked into the standing-room-only audience, stopped the song abruptly and then called out on the mic for help.

As security guards rushed over to a female fan in distress, Louis urged the crowd to let them get through. He and the guards yelled, "Make a hole" ... and then LT waited calmly onstage to let the responders do their job.

When security began taking her out of the theater, Louis decided to bring the lights up and take 5. Fans around the incident quickly cooperated and made a clear path to the doors.

This latest incident seals it ... artists are definitely more attentive to audience members who are sick or injured. Of course, Billie Eilish did it weeks ago at a show in Atlanta, giving the whole crowd a chance to relax, sit down and take a step back from the stage.

Billie even passed her inhaler to a fan in need a few weeks ago ... saying she likes to guarantee her fans are safe at her shows. John Mayer also slowed things down for a fan during an L.A. gig.

As we reported ... some people, most notably Kanye West, took Billie's comments as a dig at Travis Scott, whose Astroworld event ended with the death of 10 people, including children.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams is so passionate about winning a championship for the city ... he's willing to lace up his kicks and showcase some of his hoops skills if he has to!!

Adams spoke with TMZ Sports briefly as he was heading into NBC studios at Rockefeller Center ... and our cameraman tried to see if the 110th mayor in the city's history would provide an update on Kyrie Irving's status for home games.

Irving -- who's only allowed to play in road games at the moment -- missed a significant amount of the Nets games this season ... as he was sidelined over his decision to remain unvaccinated.

Of course, most Nets fans had their fingers crossed after Adams took office ... hoping that the former NYPD officer-turned politician would change the mandate that prevents Irving from playing home games for the Nets, but allows his opponents to play.

Adams admitted recently the current vaccine mandate is "unfair" to Kyrie ... but said changing a rule that's already been set in motion would send "mixed messages."

"I am really, really, leery about sending the wrong message. Having the city close down again keeps me up at night," Adams told reporters at a conference.

Of course, Adams' comments were all in good fun -- after all, the Nets are probably better off.

The mayor has since changed his tune on COVID-19 from a few weeks ago ... announcing he has a plan to end New York City's vaccine mandate for indoor spaces like the Barclays Center -- which, of course, is great news for Nets fans.

Adams told reporters he "can't wait" to get rid of the mandate -- a far cry from his initial stance -- and changes could happen "in the next few weeks."

A group of apparent migrants who were stuck in the big blue with nothing but each other and a raft found refuge in a nearby cruise ship -- which swooped them up in heroic fashion.

Check out this video showing a daring rescue Friday somewhere out on the Atlantic -- about 50 miles from Cuba, we're told, and en route back toward Florida -- where a Celebrity Apex came across these guys in the water ... floating aimlessly in the middle of nowhere.

Apparently, it was actually a passenger who spotted them out there ... and then sounded the alarm. The captain of the ship turned the thing around to go get 'em -- and to bring them onboard, of course.

That's exactly what happened ... but it was no easy task getting a ladder down to the stranded trio -- who struggled, at first, in securing it -- but were ultimately successful.

As you can see ... folks were cheering when they finally got a hold of the rungs and were able to hoist themselves up. We're told that the captain later explained that if they'd left them out there ... those folks would've perished, not just because of the choppy waters ... but because they simply didn't have any supplies on hand -- including absolutely no food.

In the end the U.S. Coast Guard was summoned to collect the group ... which is what they did. Unclear what might become of them -- but they'll almost certainly be processed through immigration to figure out where they need to go. At least they're alive, though!

Amanda Bynes has her parents' full support as she tries to end her conservatorship ... a move that's not inspired by Britney Spears -- instead, her attorney says it's all about Amanda putting in the work.

Amanda's repped by David A. Esquibias, and he tells us ... Amanda's move to pull the plug on her conservatorship is years in the making, starting long before the #FreeBritney movement grew vocal last year.

He says Amanda filing the legal docs a few months after Britney successfully ended her own conservatorship is purely coincidental, and adds she's never even mentioned Britney's battle.

Amanda's lawyer says her conservatorship was never meant to be in place for her entire life -- the goal was always for it to end -- and within the last 2 years, Amanda and her parents realized the significant progress she'd made in coping with bipolar disorder.

Amanda was placed under the conservatorship in 2013 following a string of bizarre episodes. She was temporarily committed to a psychiatric facility and once released, her parents started taking care of her.

We're told Amanda's gained important structure and support in her life through attending AA, and has been sober for 3 or 4 years.

She's also doing really well in classes -- almost straight A's -- at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising as she works toward a Bachelor's degree. We're told she's focused on using fashion as a creative outlet, and also wants to develop fragrances.

Interestingly, she's not mentioned anything about getting back into acting.

Amanda's lawyer says she's been working hard with her parents to reach the common goal of ending the conservatorship, and she's put in a lot of work and effort to get there.

As we've reported, this is significantly different from Britney. Sources directly connected to her conservatorship told TMZ ... they thought it would be in place for her lifetime, because they believed she couldn't safely care for herself and others.

Amanda Bynes just took a huge step on the path to personal freedom ... because she officially filed to pull the plug on her conservatorship. And, it doesn't seem coincidental she's doing it on the heels of Britney Spears ending hers.

The former child star filed docs in L.A. Wednesday to end her 9-year conservatorship.

Amanda was placed under the conservatorship back in 2013 following a string of bizarre episodes ... including when she soaked her dog in gasoline while setting a neighbor's driveway on fire, which shed light on some of her struggles with mental health. She was committed temporarily to a psychiatric facility and once released, was cared for by her parents.

Amanda's move to end the conservatorship is interesting ... as we reported back in September, a judge signed off to keep it in place until March 2023.

She's mostly been staying out of the spotlight, pursuing other interests besides acting, dabbling in rap music and pursuing a design career while getting engaged. She also got a degree from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, which certainly shows an ability to function.

There's definitely a movement to end conservatorships with young people where it runs indefinitely, so the judge's reaction will be both interesting and important.

A Los Angeles woman says she was unable to see her Rams hoist the Lombardi Trophy after spending nearly $9,000 on tickets to the Super Bowl ... claiming she suffered "life-altering injuries" during the big game -- and now she's suing SoFi Stadium.

Rams fan Lita Abella made the allegations in a lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- claiming she missed the rest of the game due to an incident in the third quarter.

In the docs, Abella claims she was sitting in her seat when she "suddenly, and without warning," felt a forcible blow to the back of her head.

Abella says the impact was so strong, it forced her out of her assigned seat and sent her flying into the back of another seat rows ahead.

In the suit, the woman alleges that a man lost his balance and fell after "high fiving" another man ... causing him to fall into where Abella had been sitting, which resulted in her face and head colliding with another seat.

The woman says she suffered gnarly injuries -- including a concussion, orbital fracture, fractured nose, and fractured shoulder -- and ended up missing the trophy ceremony because she was in the hospital.

Abella is accusing SoFi Stadium of negligence and premises liability -- saying the stadium was ultimately responsible for what she describes as the "dangerous and defectively planned" seating which led to her injuries.

She's suing for unspecified damages.

Dozens of Ukrainian infants born in the middle of the Russian invasion are now getting intensive care in a makeshift bomb shelter ... as hospital staff huddles around the newborns.

This footage is from a children's hospital in Dnipro, a city in eastern Ukraine -- an area Russia is targeting with missiles -- and you can see the tough conditions these babies and their caretakers are now forced to endure.

The babies were moved from the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit -- so, they were medically vulnerable under the best conditions ... but now they've been forced to seek refuge in a basement area of the building.

You can see nurses doing their best to hook them up to oxygen tanks and other medical devices.

It's another heartbreaking video from the front lines of the conflict ... much like that video of a Ukrainian father sobbing as he sends his daughter to safety.

Mama June's ex, Geno Doak, says he tried to overdose on pills and booze ... but he's in a better place now because June helped him get into treatment.

Geno tells TMZ ... he tried to kill himself back in September by chasing 90 blood pressure pills with a liter of Jägermeister while at his Florida home.

He says he was feeling down over everything going on in his life, explaining he had been miserable for a long time leading up to the attempted suicide.

It's interesting ... that happened right around the time he and Mama broke things off, but Geno told us that wasn't the reason he tried to kill himself. Watch the video ... he says it was the cumulative effect of untreated issues that began before June.

Luckily for Geno, a friend was at his house the night he popped all those pills and noticed the empty bottle. He says she called 911 and paramedics ultimately saved his life. After that he ended up in a mental health facility ... and when he was released, June offered a helping hand.

The way Geno tells it ... June came over to pick up some of her belongings, and when he told her about the OD, she referred him to a rehab center in South Carolina.

Since going through treatment, Geno says he's been going through the 12 steps and learning a lot about himself, and what put him in a "dark place."

It sounds like Geno's doing a lot better now -- but explained why he's no longer in touch with Mama June.

8 years removed from official in-ring action, WWE star Corey Graves tells TMZ Sports he has officially been cleared by doctors, and is now permitted to continue kicking asses in the squared circle -- but will he do it?!

We talked to Corey and WWE Superstar fiancée Carmella about everything from great news from the docs to their upcoming reality show (more on that later!).

"I went and spent some time with doctors middle of last year. I kinda got the itch. This is one of the first times I'm saying this publicly. I have been medically cleared to compete," Corey tells us.

"It's not an immediate goal of mine, it was just something I needed to know for my own sanity. My journey in the ring got cut short and it's kinda eaten at me for years, always wondering what if, what if there's a chance, what if there's an opportunity ... so I went and did the necessary steps and it turns out I'm more okay than I thought I was."

Graves last wrestled in March 2014. Months after his final match, WWE announced the Superstar was retiring from in-ring action and moving over to the broadcast booth ... after reportedly sustaining several concussions.

At the time, Corey said he was just content with working again, telling WWE.com ... "These last eight months have been up and down, emotionally, but I’m really looking forward to being part of the show again."

Speaking of shows ... Corey and Carmella are starring in their very own digital reality show, and it looks awesome.

And, they say it all came to be organically ... starting with a spontaneous Instagram Live sesh. Fans were into it ... so they launched a podcast, "Bare With Us." Then came the partnership with WWE ... and a real deal show.

"The podcast allowed fans to see us in a different light. We wanted to shed light on normal things that couples argue over, fight over, whether it's issues in the bedroom, chores at the house, and who's responsible for what chores at the house. For us, we just wanted to maintain that authenticity from our podcast onto the show, and that's what we're doing."

"We're really excited for the fans to get to know us in real life, and not just these larger-than-life personalities they see on TV."

Britney Spears is gearing up for a legal war with her former business managers at TriStar Entertainment -- a company heavily involved in her conservatorship, which she now outlandishly claims attempted to end her life.

The singer went off on TriStar Wednesday, especially its head honcho Lou Taylor and her righthand woman, Robin Greenhill -- 2 women who were allegedly an integral part of Britney’s life -- and she's accusing them of way more than just malfeasance.

Brit describes a meeting she says Greenhill and Taylor set up, and she claims Kate Beckinsale was also in attendance ... just to butter up Britney.

She says, "Ha those same bitches killed me a week later !!!! My dad worshipped those two women and would have done anything they asked of him !!!! I think they were trying to kill me … I still to this very day believe that’s EXACTLY what they were trying to do … but not a damn thing was wrong with me and I didn’t die !!!!"

She's never specific about HOW they allegedly tried to finish her, but Britney adds ... "Nobody else would have lived through what they did to me 🙅🏼‍♀️ !!! I lived through all of if and I remember all of it !!!! I will sue the shit out of Tri Star !!!! Psss they got away with all of it and I’m here to warn them every day of my precious life !!!!"

As we’ve told you, TriStar was hired by Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, early on in the conservatorship to handle her business affairs.

Britney could be alluding to when she was admitted into a mental health facility in 2019 after what we were told was her having a breakdown due to being distraught over her dad’s illness at the time.

During her stay, we’d been told doctors worked on getting her the right combination of medications to get her stable -- but she looked totally out of it during a day out with her BF, Sam Asghari.

As for Taylor and Greenhill, we got the latter out at LAX last year and tried to get comment on claims that she’d been part of the team that greenlit the alleged bugging of Britney’s room once upon a time.

She didn’t say a thing though ... remaining mum on all things Britney.

Now, it sounds like Britney's at least considering getting some payback in court. We've reached out to Lou Taylor and TriStar, but no word back yet.

Stand-up comedian and shock magician "The Amazing Johnathan" is dead after battling heart issues for years.

An assistant to Johnathan's wife tells TMZ ... Johnathan passed Tuesday night while at home "cuddling" with his wife of 11 years, Anastasia Synn. We're told a hospice nurse had been staying with him for the last 3 weeks, and confirmed he had passed.

The former Las Vegas headliner, whose real name was Johnathan Szeles, had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2007, and it's been a very tough road. The assistant says, "We have thought we lost him so many times that we never thought it would actually happen."

Johnathan was reportedly making up to $3 million per year at the peak of his Vegas fame when he had a residency at Bally's casino. His gonzo act featured some astounding, and downright shocking, moves ... including putting a spike through his tongue and sucking on his dangling eyeball.

The Detroit native gained a more mainstream audience after appearing on Criss Angel's reality show, "Mindfreak."

During a 2014 appearance, he announced he'd been told he only had one year to live ... but he was still around 5 years later when he launched a comeback tour.

Anastasia's assistant says they will have memorials for Johnathan in Vegas, Michigan and in L.A. they will hold the "Los Angeles Broken wand ceremony at the Magic Castle."

Johnathan was 63.

Tom Brady was all about offense, but Gisele Bündchen is the master of the defense.

TB12's supermodel wife put her jiu-jitsu skills on full display in a recent training session this week -- and it's damn impressive!!

Gisele is no stranger to combat sports -- she's dabbled in boxing and kung fu over the years ... but she's taking her self-defense to new levels with her latest martial art.

GB looks solid in a workout with the Valente Brothers in Florida ... working on her striking, chokes and other submissions -- she even flips her instructor!!

BTW, the Valente brothers know their stuff. The family was originally taught by Helio Gracie, considered the godfather of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Gisele spoke about her decision to work on her badass jiu-jitsu skills on Wednesday ... saying, "I believe the more tools we have in our toolbox the better."

"I feel stronger, more confidence and empowered since I started practicing self-defense. I feel it’s an important skill for all, but specially for us women."

It makes ya wonder -- with TB12 having a bunch of free time now, will he be joining his wife in the martial arts world in retirement. After all, Tom IS great friends with Dana White, and is a part-owner of the UFC.

Sad news in the hockey world ... Rodion Amirov, the Toronto Maple Leafs' first-round pick in 2020, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and has been ruled out for the season.

Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas announced the diagnosis on Wednesday morning ... saying the tumor was found while the 20-year-old was recovering from an injury he suffered at the beginning of this season.

"During the course of his recovery from this injury," Dubas said, "he developed some new, unrelated symptoms that required ongoing extensive investigations over the last few months."

Dubas says the prospect -- who plays in the KHL, one of the best pro hockey leagues in the world -- is now undergoing treatment at a German medical facility and he'll miss the rest of the 2021-2022 season.

"Our medical staff has been involved throughout the process alongside [Rodion's KHL team] and we are in direct contact with the facility on an ongoing basis to monitor his treatment and care," Dubas said.

"Rodion has the complete support of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and we will continue to ensure he receives the best care possible throughout this process."

Amirov is in good spirits despite the news -- his agent, Dan Milstein, said he's working out every day and skating three times a week.

"I want to stay positive, and I want people to think positively about me," Amirov told Sportsnet.

"There are many other people that have their own sicknesses or illnesses. I want to show by example that I can give people hope."

Lindsey Pearlman, the "Empire" and "General Hospital" actress who was found dead in her car Friday ... had a history of depression before committing suicide ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Lindsey called her husband, Vance Smith, the day before her body was found, saying she was intent on ending her life. Her husband contacted police in a frantic effort to find Lindsey. He never saw her alive again.

We're told Lindsey drove to the base of Runyon Canyon in Hollywood -- a popular hiking spot -- and swallowed enough pills to fatally overdose. A hiker came upon her car last Friday, saw her body inside and called police.

We've learned Lindsey left a suicide note at her home and also left a note in her car ... telling whoever found her to call 911.

Investigators learned Lindsey suffered from bouts of depression over the years, and it appears it just became too overwhelming.

After her body was found, Lindsey's sister posted the phone number of the National Suicide Hotline on social media and said, "Please know that you are never truly alone."

The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office says an autopsy was performed but they are requesting more tests and studies before determining an official cause of death, but our law enforcement sources say it's apparent it was a drug overdose.