Influencers

Canelo Alvarez says Jake Paul needs to come back down to earth ... praising the Problem Child for what he's been doing in the boxing ring, but making it clear he's got no shot against him in a professional fight.

The 26-year-old former Disney star has been calling out the champ for years -- most recently, Jake said he had his sights set on Canelo after defeating Nate Diaz via unanimous decision earlier this month.

Alvarez -- who initially ripped the Paul bros for having a "lack of respect" for the fight game in an interview with TMZ Sports back in December 2020 -- has since warmed up to the social media superstars getting into boxing ... but when asked if Jake could ever get to his level, Canelo said it's time for a reality check.

"My level is other level," Canelo told Mirror Fighting this week. "But look, I think he needs to enjoy what he's doing, and that's it."

"He needs to calm down and start calling out people with other levels. I think he needs to focus on what he's doing. He's doing good things."

Canelo added Jake should stick to guys like Nate ... saying, "he needs to enjoy that."

Canelo also addressed getting called out by Conor McGregor ... and it sounds like he, too, won't get his wish -- at least for now.

Tan Mom is throwing her hat in the ring to become the next U.S. Senator from the state of Florida.

Patricia Krentcil, the government name we assume she'd use in D.C., filed paperwork Monday with the Federal Elections Commission to officially run for U.S. Senate in 2024.

Tan Mom's Senate campaign comes on the heels of her latest reality TV show, "Tan to 10," a docuseries following her attempt to quit tanning as part of what she calls an "extreme life makeover."

Patricia says she forged a bond with the LGBTQ+ community during her life makeover and she wants to use those connections to spark change in Washington D.C. with her Senate bid.

Tan Mom -- a frequent guest on "The Howard Stern Show" -- is going up against incumbent Senator Rick Scott, so she's fighting an uphill battle here ... but she's already launched her campaign website and is running as a Republican based out of Boca Raton, naming her producers Gregg Maliff and Adam Barta as her campaign managers.

A single mother to 5 children, Tan Mom says her campaign platforms include LGBTQ+ equality and bringing diversity back to the classrooms -- both hot-button issues in the Sunshine State -- and she's aiming to connect with voters during a slew of upcoming community appearances,

Tan Mom tells TMZ ... "I know that I am different. And I have suffered for it. But us all being different is what makes this country so amazing and unique."

Lil Tay really did have her Instagram compromised by someone who used the page to falsely claim she was dead ... Meta tells us they helped get the account back in her hands.

There's been serious doubts about the social media personality's story after it turned out this week's shocking news of her death was all a hoax ... but a spokesperson for Meta says Lil Tay is being truthful about not being able to access her IG.

Remember ... Lil Tay's fake death was announced Wednesday morning on her Instagram ... with the statement saying her "sudden and tragic passing" was an "unbearable loss," and claiming her family was in complete shock.

It appears the alleged hackers didn't stop at a social media announcement ... before the ominous post Wednesday, TMZ was contacted by someone claiming to be a rep for Lil Tay's family with a full press release and said she and her brother had died at their mother's home in Vancouver.

But, when TMZ contacted police in the Vancouver area as well as family members, everyone was totally in the dark.

Lil Tay's family gave us a statement from her Thursday, which said she was very much alive and that, "My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong."

Tay also thanked Meta for helping to get her Instagram account back, and the phony death statement has since been scrubbed.

A Meta company spokesman confirmed Tay's account, telling us they did help her get her IG back from the hacker.

It will be interesting to see if Lil Tay becomes more active on IG now ... she hasn't posted since June 2018, despite having over 3.5 million followers.

Social media personality Lil Tay is very much still alive -- claiming her Instagram account was compromised -- and used to spread "jarring misinformation" about her and her brother's death.

In a statement provided to TMZ from Tay's family, she tells TMZ, "I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say. It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess."

She also says, "My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong. My legal name is Tay Tian, not "Claire Hope"."

Tay thanks Meta for helping to get her Instagram account back, and the phony death statement has been removed.

What's still unclear is why it took Tay 24 hours to get word out she's alive, especially because she says she was aware her account was hacked ... and was getting phone calls about her "death."

On Wednesday, TMZ contacted police in the Vancouver area as well as family members who were totally in the dark, and knew nothing of her passing. Now we know why.

Tay's fake death was announced Wednesday morning on her Instagram ... the statement said her "sudden and tragic passing" is an "unbearable loss," adding her family is in complete shock.

The statement also claimed her brother died, "Her brother's passing adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief."

Lil Tay got her fame as the "World's Youngest Flexer" that rapped and showed off a lavish lifestyle across social media. She's garnered 3.2 million followers on Instagram, but hadn't posted on the account since 2018.

You'll recall, Tay was caught in the middle of a nasty custody battle between her parents, Angela Tian and Christopher Hope -- one we were told had been going on in court since 2018, around the same time the influencer went radio silent online.

TikTok star "Uncle Chris" -- famous for the Yeet Baby videos -- is getting treatment in a mental health facility after a difficult several months ... which all led up to his alleged disappearance.

As we reported, Chris Rooney's family went to the cops last week after they couldn't get in touch and feared the worst. A short time later, officers told us Chris had been located safe, but it was unclear what led up to his family's report.

Now, Rooney's family is explaining what happened behind the scenes, saying, "As many of you know, his life the last 6 months has been nothing short of difficult. What you all witnessed leading up to his disappearance was all of his emotions coming to a head."

Those following along with Chris' life likely knew he had recently separated from his wife -- at times talking about it on social media.

What's more, his family says, "Prior to his disappearance he had seen the movie "Sound of Freedom," and like many others, he was sick to his core over it. This prompted him to post links to raise money for the cause of ending child sex trafficking. To many of you this may have seemed odd, but he genuinely wanted and still wants to help this cause."

Chris's family says he wasn't acting like himself, and when they couldn't get in touch with him, they feared the worst ... calling the police to make a missing person's report.

Thankfully, they learned he was in the mental health facility several hours later -- where he remains -- and is getting the treatment he needs.

Chris also released a statement, saying, "Unfortunately, there was nothing anyone could do to help me. It is something that I have to work on and am going to make it my life's mission to not only get myself healthy but also others. If there is one thing I have learned during this time, there are a lot of hurting people in this world and I am going to do everything I can to help them."

TikTok star Lexy Burke and her country singer hubby Austin Burke are super shaken after a bullet ripped through their Tennessee home.

Austin tells TMZ ... he was sitting on his couch Sunday night while Lexy was upstairs taking a bath when they both heard gunshots ... and then they felt their house rattle.

He says they checked their surveillance cameras and heard a gun being loaded, cocked, and fired. He called police, who came and quickly discovered a bullet hole in the home's exterior.

TMZ obtained a photo of the bullet hole ... as well as home security footage in which you hear the gun discharge. You can't see who fired the shot in the video.

Police in Nashville tell TMZ ... officers responded to the couple's home over the weekend for a shots fired report. We're told no arrests have been made and the case remains under investigation.

Austin tells us it's "incredibly unsettling" knowing someone fired a gun at their home in the middle of the night with his pregnant wife inside. He has no idea who did it.

Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat took to the streets of NYC, hoping to put on a huge giveaway ... but it resulted in all-out pandemonium, and him getting hauled off by cops.

It all went down at Union Square Park on Friday, where Kai and fellow streamer Fanum said they were giving away things like PS5 consoles and gift cards. The whole thing was set to start at 4 PM, but the mayhem broke out around 3:30.

The NYPD said thousands of people were at Union Square, and officers flocked to the scene in an attempt to break up the gigantic crowd. Kai and other people in the crowd were taken into custody at some point during the mess.

Clips from inside the madness have been circulating online, showing people getting attacked, garbage flying, and even some folks on top of a gazebo. It looks like a majority of the people in the swarm are pretty young, too.

For those unaware, Kai is one of the biggest streamers on Twitch, garnering 6.5M on the platform -- and another 5.5M on Instagram alone.

YouTube star Fousey says the first thing that went through his mind after using a racial slur while rapping along to a J. Cole song was having to move back in with his mom ... telling us he worried he would be canceled.

Fousey sat down on the "TMZ Verified" Podcast and told us he regrets singing the n-word on a live stream ... saying it was an honest mistake and explaining why he feared the gaffe would cost him his bread and butter.

As you may know, Fousey is currently on a live stream marathon and earlier this month he went viral for using the racial slur while singing along to J. Cole's "Love Yourz."

Fousey says J. Cole is his favorite rapper and he normally substitutes the n-word for similar-sounding words ... insisting it's not in his character to use the slur, even with rap lyrics.

After the tongue slip, Fousey punched his bed in disgust ... and he says he couldn't stop thinking about being canceled and having to call his mom and tell her what happened, fearing the worst.

A scary few hours for the family of TikTok personality "Uncle Chris" -- famous for his Yeet Baby videos -- as his family reported him missing to cops.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Chris Rooney's family made a missing person's report for the social media star Thursday with cops in Virginia after they couldn't get in touch. It's unclear why his family felt they needed to escalate the incident to police ... but clearly, something happened to cause them concern.

From there ... the message of Rooney's alleged disappearance spread across various social media platforms, with his family and friends desperate to get in touch.

After several hours, our law enforcement sources tell us Chris made contact with the police to let them know of his whereabouts and to report he was safe.

No word on whether or not he's been reunited with his family or what happened in the days and hours leading up to his alleged disappearance.

Chris, along with his niece and nephew, has become very popular on TikTok -- amassing more than 5 million followers -- mostly for videos of the tots trying to fill cups with large containers of various liquids.

Before this Philippines native in his sweater vest and bowtie turned into a beauty influencer and social media personality, he was just playing sports like volleyball, track and soccer ... and growing up in Hawaii.

Getting his start on Vine and YouTube, he would later create meme-worthy content with vlogs and beauty tutorials, and his success has been featured in several magazines ... not to mention gracing the covers of Forbes and Vogue. Both Talia Joy and Patrick Starr are two of his biggest inspirations.

Need one more clue? He had his own reality show on MTV.

Kim Kardashian's popular clothing line, Skims, has officially hit the $4 billion mark ... growing at a staggering rate -- at nearly $1B higher than last year's evaluation.

KK's brand recently grabbed another $270 mil in funding for the company -- according to The New York Times, which says helps catapult her into the new financial circle.

FYI, Skims was marked as a $3.2B company at the beginning of 2022 ... after another round of financing which brought in $240M. Kim's brand had a $1.6B evaluation just a year before that ... so clearly, things are moving up, and FAST.

What's more -- we're told the company is set to achieve net sales of $750M in 2023 -- up from the nearly $500 it hit in 2022.

In case ya forgot, Skims has only been in the game for 4 years, founded in 2019 by Kim, Emma Grede, and Jens Grede.

The shapewear line has been a staple of the apparel industry practically since it launched ... and the company even made it on TIME's List of 100 Most Influential Companies last year.

Alix Earle and Braxton Berrios took their romance to the red carpet on Wednesday ... hitting up the ESPYs together amid the NFL player's nasty breakup with Sophia Culpo.

The TikTok star and Miami Dolphins receiver eliminated any doubt about whether they're actually a couple at the sports award show ... with their appearance being considered a "hard launch" for their relationship.

The two initially sparked dating rumors following BB's split from Olivia Culpo's younger sister earlier this year ... which resulted in numerous cheating allegations from Sophia.

Braxton has adamantly denied being unfaithful at any point in the relationship ... and Earle insisted she is not "dating" the footballer, despite including a short snippet of them hugging in a TikTok posted to her page on June 25.

But let's be real -- they certainly looked like BF and GF as they dressed up in sharp outfits for the event ... posing for pics together before entering the Dolby Theater.

Sophia has seemingly decided to chill on posting any drama-related content surrounding Berrios and Earle's appearance ... but that could always change.

As for Earle, she shared a vid of her prep for the big night ... and revealed the couple had a 6 AM flight they'd most likely miss Thursday morning.

It's definitely no longer Prime day in Canada ... officials up north said this week they're recalling Logan Paul and KSI's popular energy drink -- due to its high caffeine content.

Health Canada announced the decision Wednesday ... saying at 200 milligrams of caffeine per can, Prime Energy needs to be pulled from store shelves.

Officials said the caffeine in each container -- which is equal to roughly two full cans of Red Bull -- is just too high ... coming in at 20 milligrams over the country's recommended limit of 180 per serving.

The move comes just a couple days after United States senator Chuck Schumer questioned whether the social media influencers' beverage should be sold in American stores as well.

The democrat argued that it posed a "serious health concern" for kids ... and he urged the Food and Drug Administration to investigate it all.

For their part, Paul and KSI have fired back ... noting that Prime Energy is different than the Prime Hydration beverage that they initially launched back in 2022.

The hydration one, they and the company reiterated, is for everyone ... while the energy version -- which dropped earlier this year -- is "not recommended" for anyone under 18 years old.

Paul recently created a sarcastic social media video where he attempted to demonstrate the difference between the drinks and water.

"As a brand," Prime officials added in a statement earlier this week, "our top priority is consumer safety, so we welcome discussions with the FDA or any other organization regarding suggested industry changes they feel are necessary in order to protect consumers."

All versions of the Prime drinks have become wildly popular since their debuts ... as the social media stars have aggressively advertised it to their legions of fans with a ton of success.

Jake Paul is a Sports Illustrated cover athlete -- the Problem Child just added to his growing list of accomplishments ... landing the big spotlight for the outlet's "Power List" issue.

S.I. published its submissions for the "50 most influential figures in sports" on Thursday ... where it highlights the biggest athletes, dealmakers, executives, icons and leaders and influencers over the past year.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer is front and center for the issue ... showing him throwing a punch in an underwater photoshoot.

It's a huge honor for Paul, who turned social media boxing into a multi-million dollar business ... even starting his own Most Valuable Promotions company.

Paul's also brought a bunch of new fans to the sport of boxing ... selling a ton of Pay-Per-Views for his fights against Tommy Fury, Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren and more.

We spoke with Jake about landing the cover ... and he said it's a "surreal" experience.

"It doesn't make any sense, but I've worked my ass off to get to this position, and I couldn't have done it without my supporters from back in the Vine days, from my Disney Channel fans, my YouTube fans," Paul told TMZ Sports.

"I really owe it all to them and their support of me through each lane and each vertical of my life as I've gotten older."

"Through all the negative, through all the hate, through all the things and the people trying to tear us down -- we've risen to the occasion and we've overcome it every single time," he added.

"And that, to me, is what means the most and this feels like a staple, monumental moment in my career and to be even considered for it is a humbling thing and I can't believe it's my life."

Grab the tissues ... Logan Paul just dropped video of his romantic marriage proposal to Nina Agdal, and it couldn't have been sweeter!!!

Paul published the video on his YouTube page Monday morning, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important moments of his entire life.

Of course, we knew 28-year-old Paul and 31-year-old Agdal got engaged last week ... but now Logan and Nina are sharing video of the actual proposal in Lake Como, Italy.

Paul popped the question after dinner ... as the couple was taking in the beautiful scenery.

"Nina, I love you so much," Logan said ... as he turned into a puddle.

"You are the love of my life. You are the girl of my dreams. I never thought I'd find you. I never want to let you go. I'm sorry I'm being such a 'p***y'" ... before dropping down to one knee.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" ... the couple embraced, and there were more tears!

After the proposal, Logan and Nina had dinner with her parents ... where LP asked the rents if he could ask for their daughter's hand in marriage.

Sure, that's typically done before you actually ask ... but that's when Logan revealed the weather forecast forced him to move up the day he was going to ask for her hand in marriage.

Thankfully, Mom and Dad said yes (whew 😰).

Paul also showed the moment in May when he first saw the huge rock of a ring that he helped design ... and he was clearly blown away.

"Oh my God, it's perfect," LP said when he saw the ring ... adding "People don't talk about how stressful it is for dudes to pick out rings for their soon-to-be wife."

Logan also showed his brother Jake's reaction to the engagement ring (he was psyched for his bro!) ... as well as his mother's!

Bottom line, the proposal was perfect ... and now it's time to plan a wedding!

A recent viral video accusing Colleen Ballinger of wearing blackface and performing "Single Ladies" has it all wrong ... and new footage lays out exactly what happened.

The clip shot back in 2009, made rounds Wednesday ... showing the popular Youtuber and two men performing the Beyoncé classic. Ballinger appeared to be in blackface during the number ... and was slammed on social media as a racist.

However, new video -- obtained by TMZ -- shows a different perspective. Prior to "Single Ladies," Colleen performed a song from the musical "Wicked" with Oliver Tompsett, one of the musical's stars.

Colleen wore green face paint for the tune with Tompsett -- like the Wicked Witch of the West -- and went into "Single Ladies" immediately after the song wrapped.

The sequence of back-to-back songs left zero time for Colleen to wipe off the green paint, resulting in the now-viral video accusing her of wearing blackface for "Single Ladies."

As we reported ... Colleen's under fire for what many have considered inappropriate behavior toward minors as well as racism.