Humor

Tony Rock has another nickname for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to trade their Royal Family roles for life in Canada -- think "Coming to America" sequel ... but lighter.

The comedian was in Bev Hills Wednesday night when we asked him about "Megxit" ... he tells us it's like a real-life version of the 1988 Eddie Murphy flick where he gives up his life as a prince to find true love.

Tony describes it a little differently for Harry and Meghan, but still ... it's an apt comparison.

Chris' younger brother also tells us he doesn't think Meghan's going to get her wish for more privacy for their son, Archie ... because the kid's just way too famous. Once again, he hilariously evokes a scene from "Coming to America" to make his point.

As for the actual sequel to the classic comedy -- scheduled to open wide in theaters in December 2020 -- Rock reveals he's not involved in the project at all ... and it seems like he feels a bit snubbed.

JB Smoove had something to prove on the streets of New York -- he ain't as grouchy as Larry David is with autograph seekers, and we know this because he put pen to flesh.

We got the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Wednesday afternoon as he was greeted by a swarm of fans and autograph hounds chirping for signatures. JB kept it pretty real with them, saying he couldn't sign all of 'em. He held firm too.

Of course ... this reminded our camera guy, Ezra, of his costar Larry David's recent L.A. run-in with an autograph brigade that ended with a super-heated confrontation and scolding.

Ezra tried to ask JB about it, and he cut us off ... insisting he didn't have as much of a problem with it as LD does. Then, he took it a step further ... signing for Ezra -- ON HIS NECK!!!

Check it out ... it seems like the skin game brought these two fellas damn close in the end. They even made a pinky-promise of sorts to each other.

Michelle Obama is taking a wholesome approach to the new year -- clinging to the past by working out to songs that are a few to several years old ... most being curse-free.

The former first lady put out her 2020 workout playlist Sunday, and it features a bunch of oldies but goodies ... for millennials, that is. She's got songs on there that date back to 1990 all the way up to this past year. Most of her tracks are smack dab in the 2010s.

Mrs. Obama tapped stuff like "Feels Good" (1990), "Feelin' So Good Remix" (1999), "Lose My Breath" (2004), "A God Like You" (2011), "3005" (2013), "Lay Me Down" (2013), "Godspeed" (2016), "Slide" (2017), "Toast" (2018) and lots of other tracks spanning the decades.

Well, here's the weirdest "bucking" thing you'll see all day ... a teacher cracking a joke about killing a puppy in order to motivate his students to win a vocabulary competition.

Woof!

A California high school teacher named Ryan Price at Buckingham Charter Magnet was trying to get his class fired up for the "Vocab Bowl" -- in which it was leading over some rival schools -- by bringing in a brand new mascot ... an adorable puppy named Buck.

Pretty awesome method of encouragement! Except ... Mr. Price then goes on a rant about doing your "bucking vocab" and issues a threat to the kids -- if they lose the Vocab Bowl, he'll "kill the dog."

George Lucas gently cradling Baby Yoda is already the best thing to happen in 2020 -- and if you're not feeling that ... ya might be dead inside.

The 'Star Wars' creator finally met arguably the most popular character to come outta the Disney+ series, "The Mandalorian." He's, for sure, the most meme'd! Jon Favreau, executive producer of the show, shared the pic of George and Baby Yoda on set while shooting for season 2.

BTW ... Baby Yoda's more of an Internet handle. The character simply goes by The Child on the show -- but it's easy to see how the nickname caught fire.

Of course, George created Jedi Master Yoda for his 1980 film "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" (aka the Star Wars G.O.A.T.). Baby Yoda, who is 50 years old in the series, has been all the craze and Disney's about to cash in by dropping tons of merch in March -- but knock-offs are everywhere already.

Fittingly, Favreau captioned the meeting ... "Proud grandpa."

Someone's leaving in an ambulance, and Mark Wahlberg is positive it'll be Dr. Oz ... IF the good doc follows through with his push-up challenge ... to settle the great breakfast debate once and for all.

It all started out kinda funny, but Mark's no longer laughing, saying to Oz, "We got beef now. You don't want this smoke" -- making it clear he's down for whatever physical competition Oz wants.

You'll recall ... Oz threw down the gauntlet earlier this week when he told us he'd crush Marky Mark in a one-legged push-up contest ... all because Mark disagreed with Oz's controversial break-xit remark -- that we should do away with breakfast altogether!!

Careful what you ask for, Oz, 'cause Mark's dead serious -- "You could do your little 20 push-ups with one leg, your assisted pull-up. I'm telling you you'll need a defibrillator when I'm done with you!"

Will Smith almost always clowned Martin Lawrence for his driving skills, or lack thereof, in every 'Bad Boys' film ... so it's fitting Big Willie's behind the wheel for their sequel's big premiere.

Will and Martin arrived in style, courtesy of a midnight blue Porsche, for their "Bad Boys For Life" premiere Tuesday night in Hollywood. The famous movie cop duo hit up the TCL Chinese Theatre where a throng of fans screamed their lungs out.

Will and Martin both hit the stage -- along with reggaeton superstar Nicky Jam, who has a role in the film -- and hyped the crowd. The premiere was quite the family affair.

Will was joined by his sons, Trey and Jaden. Martin was joined by his entire family. Stars were also out in full force ... from Chance the Rapper, T-Pain, G-Eazy and Armie Hammer to NFL legend Emmitt Smith, mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and T.I. and Tiny.

The night, however, may have belonged to Vanessa Hudgens ... who dazzled in a white ensemble full of flair. She plays Kelly ... part of a new ammo team brought in to work with detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett.

Ray J showed up late to his own party with 50 Cent -- but when he finally arrived, he made it worth the wait. Ray knows how to make an entrance ... when money's on the line!!!

Fiddy and Ray were supposed to show up together at the recent L.A. meet-and-greet with fans. The plan was they'd shake some hands, take some pics and promote their respective brands -- 50 with his top-shelf Branson Cognac, Le Chemin Du Roi Champagne and RJ with his Raycon earbuds.

Well, 50 was on time, but Ray ended up rolling in about 90 minutes after things started. Not to worry though, he came prepared ... literally dragging in his own Raycon poster and stand into place for maximum visibility in photos.

The whole scene was kinda ridic, and 50 probably summed it up best, saying ... "What the Ray J is going on?!?"

Larry David went FULL Larry David on a gaggle of thirsty autograph hounds who really need to find a new gig, according to him -- and yet, in the end, he kinda encouraged them.

The "Seinfeld" co-creator and star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" was leaving his season 10 premiere Monday night in L.A. ... and before he could get to his car, he was greeted by the John Hancock brigade. One of 'em told Larry he'd been waiting for 7 hours, and that set LD off on a 'Curb'-worthy rant.

Larry made it clear he didn't tell them to waste 7 hours ... and ripped the group, saying no celeb likes signing for these guys who follow them for signatures, which they turn around and sell.

Jennifer Lopez performing at the SB Halftime show will be HUGE for the Latino community -- but to make it truly momentous, others should join ... so says John Leguizamo.

We got the veteran actor Sunday at LAX, where he was touching down ahead of the Critics' Choice Awards later tonight. The guy's one of the nominees for his work on "When They See Us," and he was definitely in a chatty mood. Today's topic ... Super Bowl LIV.

Our camera guy asked if J Lo performing -- alongside Shakira and, possibly, Pitbull too -- is a good thing for Hispanics at large. John certainly seems to think so ... telling us every Latinx person watching will probably be at home doing a little dance in celebration.

He took it one step further though, offering up a bunch of other big Hispanic names who could show face during the performance and really amp things up. Among them ... Bruno Mars, Camila Cabello, Maluma, Cardi B and even Mariah Carey -- who comes from Afro-Latina descent. JL notes even if she doesn't usually identify as such, he's claiming her regardless.

Mark Curry put Steve Harvey on blast for allegedly jacking his jokes and using them on his shows -- twice -- and video evidence shows ... Mark has a case.

Curry claims Harvey stole his Halloween material but hasn't gotten into specifics. This resulted in Steve clapping back at Mark ... saying the comedian can't even come up with an example of what he's barking about.

TMZ's done some digging, though ... and it seems Curry's 1999 stand-up special on "Comedy Central Presents" contains the Halloween bit Harvey allegedly lifted for his talk show.

Watch for yourself ... Mark cracks a joke about being poor growing up, and how his mom dressed him and his siblings up in boxes for Halloween "costumes." The punchline involves UPS.

Now, check out Steve's joke, which aired on his eponymous daytime talk show in 2015. It involves being poor growing up, and how his dad dressed him up in a box for a Halloween "costume." The punchline varies slightly but still involves UPS.

Hmmmmmmm ...

When Curry spoke to us, he made a point to say that not only did Harvey steal his material ... but he didn't even do it right. Once again, the video evidence seems to support his claim.

Note to future broadcasters ... an on-air tribute to a dead pet is the WORST time to get fired up over a crazy dunk!!!

Want proof? Check out this clip from a high school basketball team in Minnesota on Nov. 30 (captured by Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools) when one announcer reveals that his dog recently died after being run over by a car.

While making the emotional announcement during a "Gone But Not Forgotten" moment, his co-announcer gets FIRED UP about an aggressive slam dunk happening in real time on the court ... and the exchange is SUPER AWKWARD.

Here's the transcript ...

Announcer 1: "Our sweet Lucy, at the age of 12 she was run over in our driveway ..."

Announcer 2: "LIKE THAT?!!! Was she run over like that?!!"

Yeesh.

Thankfully, there was a time out in the game that gave everyone a chance to calm down and reset ... and later on, Announcer 2 offered his condolences to his broadcasting partner.

Ne-Yo loves himself so much, he listens to his own music when he has sex, but he's now confessing that can create certain, umm ... performance issues.

We got the singer at LAX and our photog asked about his recent revelation -- he makes love to his own tracks! As for which songs ... Ne-Yo told us his wife, Crystal Renay, usually picks the playlist. He's a gentleman, after all.

Ne-Yo's got a huge catalog, packed with perfect songs for doing the deed, but he says the slower tunes usually set the mood just right -- in particular, he says "Mirror" is the #1 request. Feel free to try it yourself!

If there was ever any doubt, Ne-Yo is a perfectionist ... you gotta see him explain the one hazard of banging while his voice is blaring on a speaker. Let's just say it has to do with different strokes.

Imagine riding the subway to work on a totally normal morning ... and sharing your commute with the entire Toronto Maple Leafs roster!!!

That's exactly what happened on Thursday ... when Auston Matthews and his boys headed to their annual outdoor practice by using public transit.

It's become a tradition for Toronto to give the fans a cool, up-close experience at Nathan Phillips Square in the 6 ... and give subway-goers a ride they'll never forget!!

Maple Leafs star Mitchell Marner -- who just signed a 6-year, $65.3 MILLION with Toronto this past offseason -- was even signing autographs while hanging with the normies.

Of course, the boys ended up getting to the ice for a full day of practice ... which includes a 3-on-3 tournament for all the fans to watch. Cool stuff.

Brad Pitt opened up about his sobriety in a surprise way ... by crediting Bradley Cooper for helping him get there after his pal presented him an award.

Brad won Best Supporting Actor at the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala on Wednesday night, and after being handed the award and hugging it out, he praised Bradley in his speech for being a great dad ... and a great friend.

Pitt said Cooper rushed to the event after putting his daughter to bed, called him a sweetheart, then added ... "I got sober because of this guy, and every day has been happier ever since."

Adam Sandler got downright serious as he told us about bombing on stage in his early days.

Adam was at the National Board Review Gala Wednesday night in NYC and revealed what fueled his drive to be a successful stand-up comedian ... despite crashing and burning on the Sunset Strip.

The Grammy-nominated comedian says when he was a kid trying to make it, there was a 50-50 chance the friends he'd invite to come watch him would leave saying "Adam sucks."

The struggle was real ... he says it happened for 3 solid years. Adam ultimately found his footing ... and it was comedian Dennis Miller who discovered Adam in WeHo at the Comedy Club. Dennis, BTW, is the one who recommended Adam to 'SNL' honcho Lorne Michaels ... and the rest was history.

Adam also talked about Eddie Murphy's comeback to stand-up comedy ... saying he's confident it's only a matter of time until Eddie makes his triumphant return to stand-up.