Humor

Dave Chappelle recently hit a minor setback when protestors essentially forced his Minneapolis show to switch venues -- but Fat Joe thinks Dave's critics should realize he's an equal opportunity offender.

We caught up with the Don Cartagena Monday in NYC on Monday, and he said comedians like Dave Chappelle always intend for their jokes to hit the funny bones without striking emotional nerves. He also feels Dave tells jokes about everyone, not one particular group more than another.

Call it a game of Comedy Operation ... Joe acknowledges there are sensitive subjects to address -- especially within the LGBTQ+ community -- but he feels laughter is the best medicine for most issues.

Minnesota protestors, particularly angry over Dave's Netflix special lineage, successfully thwarted the comedic legend from doing his show at First Avenue, forcing him to move to a new venue with just a few hours notice. Joe wishes those angry about Dave would understand love outweighs hate when it comes to comedy.

Chucky might be real after all — that is, if you take a passing glance at these photos … which certainly make it seem like he’s alive and on the move.

A 5-year-old boy named Jackson has been freaking people out in Pinson, Alabama this month … roaming the streets for a “neighborhood watch” that he apparently likes to do in costume — this according to his mom, who spoke to a local TV station.

That getup, as it turns out, is his Halloween costume from last year — Chucky the Killer Doll, from the “Child’s Play” franchise … and it might be a little too lifelike, ‘cause it’s been scaring the crap out of some residents!

These photos of Jackson walking around as Chucky were posted on Facebook — with someone asking the parent(s) of this kid to come and wrangle him in … because he’s startling the neighbors.

It’s all in good fun, of course — and now that everyone knows who it is, the family is supposedly a little famous … with some party appearance requests even coming in for Chucky/Jackson.

Social media has made it possible for a new center of attention to emerge during sometimes serious events and broadcasts ... Thursday night was the man dubbed "Clark Kent's look-alike" at the Jan. 6 hearing, but he's not the first person in the background to steal the show.

Remember "Left Shark?" The costumed character, who we were first introduced to during Katy Perry's Super Bowl Halftime show in 2015, was trending on Twitter and has become a pop culture staple over the years.

There was also "Fiji Water Girl," who was simply tasked with holding the bottles for celebs at The Golden Globes back in 2019, but became something more by appearing in more red carpet shots than previously thought possible.

Before "Clark Kent" there was "Hot Debate Guy" who stole the spotlight during the Republican debates in 2015. Turns out he was Gregory Caruso, the 24-year-old son of now L.A. Mayoral hopeful, Rick Caruso.

Not even the Royal Family can escape background scene-stealers, Prince William and Kate Middleton's flower girl in 2011, Grace van Cutsem, showed the world her true feelings when the two kissed.

Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett put it ALL on display at weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night ... droppin' trou and showing the whole crowd his bum as he called out fat-shamers!!

The lightweight contender is known for his fluctuating weight in between fights ... but when the time comes to hit the scale, he's always in incredible shape.

Despite getting absolutely shredded for his fights, Pimblett has been criticized by fans on social media ... and on Friday, he clearly got fed up with the haters.

"Everyone who tried to fat shame me or said I would miss weight or f***ing pull out -- kiss me ass," Pimblett said as he showed off his left cheek after weighing in at 156 pounds.

The crowd seemingly laughed it off ... which isn't surprising, given Paddy's fun spirit.

18-3 Pimblett is a rising star in the UFC ... and is facing off against 10-1 Jordan Leavitt in London on Saturday.

Jo Koy says he's back in the friend zone with Chelsea Handler after their split ... but he's still got love for his ex.

We got the comedian at LAX on Thursday and asked him about his recent split from Chelsea, which came just shy of one year of dating.

Jo tells our photog everything is good between him and Chelsea despite the breakup ... he says they remain great friends.

As we reported ... sources close to the former couple tell us their busy schedules weren't allowing them to spend enough time together to sustain a romantic relationship.

Jo is still promoting his upcoming movie, "Easter Sunday," while Chelsea's about to launch a comedy tour ... he says he's just concentrating on the film and isn't entertaining the idea of jumping back into the dating pool.

Welp, now we know Drake's biggest fear ... 'cause he was floating like a butterfly to avoid getting stung by a bee -- and it happened when all eyes were on him at a St. Tropez party.

A brief, but pretty hilarious clip shows Drizzy dodging like mad while his crew swats at the buzzing guest at their table. Seriously, he looked like Creed ducking jabs in a boxing ring!

But, it's good to be the Champagne Papi ... because his entourage was working OT to keep him safe

He's got no shame in his game, though, when it comes to his melissophobia!

When fans saw all the buzz -- and the comical video clip -- around Drake, he openly admitted ... "I hate bees on god."

Perhaps looking to change the conversation ... Drake posted what we gotta call a thirst trap pic of himself shirtless and lounging in the south of France.

Effective.

BTW ... that sting operation went down at the same party where Drake had posted videos trolling Joe Budden after his 2003 hit "Pump It Up" was played at the party.

Tristan Thompson was put on BLAST at the ESPY Awards by Lil Rel Howery, as he told one Olympian with a Kardashian-sounding name to steer clear of the guy.

The ESPYs were full of laughs from athletes Wednesday night at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, and Lil Rel didn't hold back when he got on mic and congratulated snowboarder and 2-time Olympic gold medalist, Chloe Kim.

He says he knew she'd be successful just because her first and last names are the same as 2 of the Kardashians ... he gave her some advice, too -- "Watch out for them Tristans, that's all I got to say."

The crowd burst into laughter, as he responded, "Yeah I said it! Y'all thinkin' it," obviously referring to the guy's cheating streak.

Lil Rel's callout comes as Tristan and Khloe Kardashian await the imminent birth of their newest addition -- although it may have already happened. TMZ broke the story around the same time the basketball player was in Greece partying it up.

Seaside parties might not be the wave ... at least not in Hawaii right now, where crazy high tides completely destroyed a wedding reception.

It all went down over the weekend, on the west coast of Hawaii's Big Island at the Hulihe'e Palace in Kailua-Kona ... when a couple set out to have a beautiful beachside reception.  And, some guests caught the whole thing on camera.

As you can see, the waves were so fierce, they wrecked the entire wedding party in a matter of seconds ... toppling the nice set-up of tables and chairs.

According to local news reports, the waves were so big they were going over 2 story buildings!

At first, it appears the guests were unaware of just how big the waves were as they watched on. Eventually, they scramble ... unable to stop the waves from destroying everything.

Luckily though, no one got hurt and they were able to turn things around for the better. The wedding cake even weathered the storm!

A rambunctious emu that lives on a farm in Florida won't let his owner film any TikToks -- a hilarious back-and-forth that has taken the internet by storm ... and for good reason.

The bird's name is Emmanuel, a resident of Knuckle Bump Farms in South Florida -- where one of the workers, a female, has time and again tried educating the public about their animals and work there ... only to be interrupted by Emmanuel's long stride and fierce peck.

Check it out ... somebody got a little compilation together from the farm's TikTok account, and they may as well be Emmanuel's highlights -- because he steals the show every time.

The camera person gets pestered each time, scolding Emmanuel for once again foiling her plans to film an informative TikTok -- but you can tell it's part of the gag ... the real content is Emmanuel's antics, which are freaking gold.

Each time he walks by her phone, he seems dumbfounded by the device -- and goes in for a closer look, often knocking the entire thing down onto the ground and staring in. As the owner puts it, Emmanuel wakes up and chooses violence ... to her bewilderment.

BTW, it seems there are other animals at Knuckle Bump that like to be disrupters just as much as Emmanuel. There's Ellen, his apparent sister, and Princess the deer ... who bites.

Jenifer Lewis says her new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is the biggest award of her illustrious career ... and she loves it so much, you'll be able to find her there every day.

We got the "The Mother of Black Hollywood" author and "Black-ish" star Friday as she was leaving her ceremony and asked what her fixture on the Walk of Fame means to her.

Jenifer tells us the star is way more important than a trophy for a show or performance, because it's forever lasting.

Jenifer's got great company on the WoF -- her star is parked right next to Katharine Hepburn -- and she jokingly says she's going to sleep next to it every night and drive by every day, telling folks not to step on her good name.

On a more serious note, Jenifer tells us she's overwhelmed with appreciation for the career milestone -- recalling all the work, on camera and off, that went into getting to this point ... including taking care of her bipolar disorder.

Her famous friends showed her serious love at the ceremony ... including Brandy, director Debbie Allen, 'SNL' alum Vanessa Bayer, composer Marc Shaiman and former "Amen" star Roz Ryan.

T.I. has long been credited as a creator of trap music (his 2003 album is named after it), but now he says he's disavowing the thoughts and ideologies of his past occupations.

While speaking with Bill Bellamy for the opening of his "Top Billin’" podcast, T.I. revealed how his approach to making music had matured over the years and admits his music was written when he was 20, sounds like it was written by a 20-year-old!

Tip even joked -- he's a comedian after all -- about rising up in the ranks in street hustling … but no longer being able to brag about it on the résumé.

He said, "I get it … I respect it! Now, for me to go out here and continue to force those skills on the marketplace when I know I have no real stage to present these skills on, it's counterproductive."

The Atlanta rap legend first burst onto the scene at the top of 2000 with pure trap classic records such as “24” and “Be Easy,” but says adjustments had to be made.

His son Domani Harris, who is also a rapper, also pushes him in the direction of non-trap-raps.

T.I.'s last album, 2020’s "The L.I.B.R.A.," saw him playing with the balance of moving away from the trap, but the comedic stage -- where he's gotten cheers and boos -- has been his go-to outlet lately.

When we last spoke to the Trouble Man in April, he said he was taking his lumps on the laugh circuit in stride and learning to be a better performer.

Snooki may not have realized a recent Cameo she recorded was for Dr. Oz, but you gotta admit, Oz's opponent was pretty clever in getting the "Jersey Shore" involved in his campaign.

The video starts with a friendly "Hey Mehmet!" -- Oz's first name -- from Snooki before she says she heard he had recently moved from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to "look for a new job." Snooki says she's confused as to why anyone would want to leave Jersey at all.

If you aren't following along ... Oz is running for Senate in Pennsylvania, even though he's called Jersey home for many years.

Snooki goes on to say she wishes Mehmet luck and says, "Don't worry, you'll be back home in Jersey soon because this is only temporary."

It's pretty clear ... Snooki wasn't aware the "Mehmet" she was recording the video for is the Senate hopeful.

Oz's Democratic opponent, PA Lt. Governor John Fetterman, posted the Snooki video to Twitter Thursday -- essentially confirming his campaign was behind getting it paid for and recorded.

In the words of Snooki ... "Good luck, you got this, Jersey loves you!"

The ever-elusive Kendrick Lamar smashed 2022 with the year's biggest rap album ... yet outside of reposting updates on that project, he's not much for social media -- but turns out he's still getting his chat on.

According to Kendrick’s former TDE President Punch, Kung Fu Kenny's actually in a group chat with himself and JAY-Z and he claims they’re some funny mofos!!

Punch spoke to Complex about Kendrick's departure from the label -- after taking it to unprecedented heights -- and revealed he, Kendrick and Jay-Z once debated who was the funniest between them all.

He called Kendrick "super witty" to add to their "super funny."

Humor really has never really been part of Kendrick’s image. “N95,” the only video to drop from his 'Mr. Morale' album, is an artistic presentation for sure … but not very LOL-ish.

Chris Rock's new relationship with actress Lake Bell is heading for new waters, quite literally ... the two are on a romantic trip overseas.

Chris and Lake were living it up in the town of Trogir in Croatia Tuesday ... holding hands as they walk along the boardwalk -- as massive yachts dock nearby. Unclear if the trip was for work, pleasure, or a combo of both ... but we're told the two were definitely enjoying each other's company.

We've seen the couple get pretty close as of late ... hitting up baseball games, getting dinner and even taking a nice romantic stroll on the beach.

We spoke with Chris' brother, Tony, at LAX this week, who jokingly told us he's happy his bro's love life is finally the talk of the town.

Pete Davidson has a new endorsement deal under his belt, one which actually centers on said area.

The comedian's starring in a new promo for Manscaped -- a male grooming company that specializes in rather sensitive spots. The ad is pretty funny ... it's a bunch of outtakes showing PD giving his freestyled pitch, which definitely doesn't seem to be scripted.

Among some of the lines -- "Surprise your girlfriend!" ... "Let's show them how hairless we could be, boys" ... "Presentation matters. Don't make me get specific, because I will."

And of course, a very direct one ... "Shave your d***. Shave it, baby." He ends by saying he's got a hot date, and that he's been using Manscaped long enough that he figured it's time to start going into business together.

On top of the money he's getting as the new face -- among other parts, as he puts it -- for the next four years, Pete's also struck a deal with Manscaped to become an actual shareholder ... so he clearly sees value in the brand.

This is PD's 6th sponsorship, at least ... he has others with Smartwater, H&M, Hellmann's, Calvin Klein and Moose Knuckles, if not more.

Add father of the bride to Eddie Murphy's long list of accomplishments ... the actor took center stage on the dancefloor to share a dance with his daughter.

Bria Murphy and actor Michael Xavier tied the knot over the weekend in Beverly Hills, and Eddie not only proudly walked his kiddo down the aisle, but danced to "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder as their father and daughter song.

Things in the dance started off slow, but in true Eddie form, he got the crowd -- and Bria -- cracking up when the two separated and he pulled off some moves of his own.

Eddie attended the wedding with his fiancee Paige Butcher.