Interview

Joey Chestnut is looking to destroy as many drums and flats needed to secure a victory this weekend ... telling TMZ Sports he's got his sights set on reclaiming the chicken wing championship!!

Jaws is slated to compete in the U.S. Chicken Wing Eating Championship in Buffalo on Saturday ... going up against some of the top competitive eaters in the world, including the past two winners of the event -- Geoffrey Esper and Miki Sudo.

Joey -- who's won the contest six times over the course of his career -- says he's focused on taking back what's his ... admitting he's frustrated he hasn't won since 2018.

Chestnut hints at the awesome vibes and bars in Buffalo as one of the reasons he's come up short in years past ... saying he might love the city TOO much.

"When I go in there early -- and the people are so nice -- it's hard to not have a good time there," Jaws says. "So this year, I need to go in there and I need to control myself a little bit and make sure I don't have too much fun when I get in to Buffalo."

Chestnut -- who once ate 413 wings in a 12-hour span -- says he's felt so much support from the fans over the years ... while also acknowledging there's a little bit of pressure that comes with having all eyes on him.

Rapper Hi-Rez, who created the now-viral Donald Trump AI rap track, says he had no political agenda while making the former prez's out-of-prison song ... he just wants to put a smile on people's faces.

Hi-Rez joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday, taking us through the process of making "Donald Trump - First Day Out" -- something he put up online for fun after Trump's mug shot made the news. The song has become a hit, charting #2 on iTunes with north of 3 million views.

In case you didn't know, rappers who get out of jail often put out a "first day out" song, talking about where they're at after becoming free once again ... and when his buddy suggested Trump would be a perfect subject, Rez jumped right to the AI tools to start cookin'.

He tells us he wrote the song in half an hour with no political bend -- his mission was actually bringing the warring sides of America together for a laugh.

Josh Seiter says he didn't correct the fake death post about him for a full 18 hours because his priority was figuring out who hacked into his Instagram account ... it's all very puzzling.

The ex-'Bachelorette' star appeared on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and we peppered him with questions about the long, long period of radio silence ... both from him and his family.

Josh says he was trying to manage a ton of texts and calls from concerned friends/family, which raises the question ... why didn't someone he called tell media outlets -- including TMZ -- the death post was a hoax?

Fact is ... we called Josh just after the death announcement was posted, but didn't get a call back until the next day. We also called family members, and they either hung up or said "no comment."

He recognizes he's going to get scrutinized, but he says he handled it the best way he knew how and is standing firm -- he was hacked.

The guy who got chastised (and then defended) at Adele's concert is sorry the people behind him were bothered -- but says they have legs ... and should use them next time.

We talked to Juan Pablo -- who went viral after Adele stood up for him Saturday night in Vegas, this after security and other guests were trying to muzzle him -- and he tells TMZ he doesn't really have any regrets about how he handled things that night.

JP says he does feel bad for those who might've been blocked by him standing up in front of them -- but in the same breath, tells us they could've stood up too ... solving the problem.

The video he took of himself -- on a selfie stick, which some found obnoxious -- is one he hopes to hold on to forever ... that's what he's telling us, anyway. While critics have accused him of clout-chasing, Juan says he was just trying to preserve a memory in real-time.

Listen to what he wants Adele to know in the wake of all this ... he's clearly very grateful -- and can't thank her enough for making him feel included and not like a troublemaker.

BTW, it sounds like all's well that ends well -- 'cause after the whole incident, he actually made peace with the security guard who was talking to him ... posing for a selfie with the guy. Juan tells us the dude wasn't even all that confrontational -- and was just trying to get him to settle down a bit.

Adele was obviously fine with his level of enthusiasm, so his advice to the seat-fillers might be the best thing they can to enjoy themselves ... stand up and sing, it's Adele!

We covered the story on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

The woman who went viral for freaking out on a plane is hitting the skies again, hoping for a different outcome -- but still doing her damnedest to keep people wondering what, if anything, she "saw" that day.

We got Tiffany Gomas Monday at LAX, where she'd just landed after flying in -- thankfully, incident-free -- from Dallas, but we had to ask her about the now infamous incident ... and where things stand now.

Check it out, our guy asks how she feels being back in a terminal again, and she says she's a little nervous considering her recent history.

She also admits she's just a bit more mindful about her actions while in the cabin of a plane and expects to keep her cool. In fact, she says she wishes she woulda done that to begin with.

Then we get to the million-dollar question Tiffany has yet to answer: What the hell did you see???

Even in her initial apology remarks to us a few weeks ago, she avoided the topic -- and sadly for people dying to know ... she continues to play coy, refusing to elaborate on the source of her meltdown.

Take a look to see why she's opting to remain tight-lipped. Gotta say ... her not-so-clever tease reeks of shameless self-promotion. Welcome to Hollywood, we guess!

Even cops couldn't get a clear response out of her -- caught on bodycam -- when they interviewed her the day she declared, "That motherf***** is not real!!!"

Francis Ngannou is guaranteeing Tyson Fury will "hit the canvas" in their upcoming fight ... telling TMZ Sports that one of his punches will send the heavyweight champ crashing to the ground.

The former UFC star made the proclamation while outside LAX this week ... two months before he steps into the ring against the undefeated Fury (33-0) in Saudi Arabia.

While he stopped short of ensuring it will be a KO -- he told us it wouldn't shock him if that ends up being the case.

"He's good at coming back up," Ngannou said. "We gonna find out how good he is -- but he's gonna hit that canvas."

While it might seem unlikely -- it is, after all, Ngannou's first-ever pro boxing bout and Fury is still at the top of his game -- the MMA fighter has been taking the fight very seriously. He said he's been studying Fury extensively ... and he's also been training with Mike Tyson.

"I'm super ready," Ngannou told us. "I'm very excited about that fight. I'm getting ready. From Saturday, we're 9 weeks out, a good amount of time to get those hands fast [and] strong."

Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson doesn't want to fight Ian Machado Garry ... so, who will the rising UFC star's next scrap be against?! Welp, "The Future" says ... Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson!

"No, the 'Wonderboy' fight is gonna happen. I have 100% faith," 25-year-old Garry told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

Of course, Ian absolutely decimated Neil Magny at UFC 292 ... beating him from pillar to post, and winning by unanimous decision. In fact, one of the judges scored all three rounds 10-8 for Garry, giving him a 30-24 victory. The other cards were both 30-26. Bottom line, it was pure domination.

After the fight, Rogan asked Garry, who has since moved up to 11th in the rankings, who he wanted next.

"I need to prove myself as the best striker that this division has ever seen," Ian told Joe.

"To be the best striker in the world, you need to beat the best strikers. And everybody has Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson on that list, so give me Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson whenever, wherever, for 5 rounds and I will prove to you that I'm the next generation of striker in the world."

The issue ... Dana White, while doing media after the event, told reporters Stephen wasn't interested in the fight.

FYI, Thompson is ranked 7th ... and recently told us he was interested in a fight against former champ Kamaru Usman, the first-ranked contender.

Unlike with Magny, Garry says he has zero beef with Stephen.

"I love Wonderboy. He's a friend of mine. I get along with him. He knows me. He knows my family. There's no malice towards Wonderboy."

Garry added ... "What I want to do is challenge myself against the best, and when we speak about the greatest strikers of all time, Wonderboy absolutely when it comes to the welterweight division, is that guy."

There's much more with Garry ... including when he wants to fight next, and who he wants after Thompson.

Bray Wyatt is being remembered as an incredible wrestler and an even better person -- the late WWE Superstar's close friend, Mojo Muhtadi, says the community lost a truly special individual this week.

Mojo -- who wrestled alongside Bray (real name Windham Rotunda) in WWE for years -- poured his heart out in an emotional tribute on the "TMZ Sports" TV show ... praising the guy for being the utmost professional and caring coworker.

"Bray was just a very close personal friend of mine," Mojo said. "Someone that I traveled city to city, country to country with for years on the road, some of the best times of my entire career."

"You talk about Bray Wyatt the performer, and he is absolutely the most creative, original performer I have met in my entire life. The things that he did in the ring were the things that only Windham could have pulled off. No one else could have done that. He was just incredible in every single way. Even Bray Wyatt just didn't hold a candle to who Windham Rotunda was as a person."

Mojo -- who got his start in wrestling thanks to Bray's dad, Mike -- said Bray was someone who brought all the wrestlers together -- never putting anyone down and taking newbies under his wing.

In fact, he said many of today's Superstars owe their careers to Bray ... as he shared so much of his knowledge with the talent.

The OnlyFans model banned by GoFundMe for selling nude photos to aid Maui wildfire relief is still raising tons of money ... all because she took her talents to a different platform.

Mariah Casillas, who goes by Lavagrll on social media, joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and told us about her fundraising issues with GoFundMe.

The model says was up to $7,800 in donations on GoFundMe when the platform pulled the plug on her fundraiser, which involved sending one nude for every $10 donated.

As she explains, the nudes were never posted on GoFundMe ... but that didn't stop the crowdfunding giant from shutting her down for violating the website's terms of service, specifically, the "prohibited conduct section."

GoFundMe refunded all the money she raised, meaning displaced folks on Maui were out of luck ... but then she took her nude fundraiser over to OnlyFans and started fresh.

The move paid off, literally ... she tells us she's already raised $10,000 and counting for Maui residents who lost everything in the deadly blaze.

That's a lot of nudes!!!

The bantamweights are anchoring UFC 292 Saturday night -- with Aljamain Sterling and rival "Suga" Sean O'Malley fighting -- and the greatest 135er of all-time is breaking down the matchup!

"You're looking at pure dominance in grappling as a specialist or a knockout artist in Sean O'Malley, so that's a fun fight," UFC legend Dominick Cruz told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

"There's no way that this can't be fun!"

To make the fight even better, outside of the guy's incredible talents, there's also been a lot of trash talk.

"Especially because of the talking on the line. All the things O'Malley is saying, 'You're not gonna be able to hold me down. I'm gonna knock you down first,'" Dom explained.

"Well, now he has to prove that, we've all heard it. And Sterling has to prove he can get in there and not get knocked out. I mean they've all talked so much, that's what builds this thing. That's what makes this fun, and gets me excited about it."

Of course, 34-year-old Sterling is the champion, and 28-year-old O'Malley is the #2 contender, behind Merab Dvalishvili. Aljo and Suga have been talking trash to each other for years.

Sterling is in the midst of a 9-fight win streak and has beaten the likes of Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen. Some of the best fighters in the world.

Sean has only lost once in his career -- to Marlon "Chito" Vera in 2020 -- and last defeated Yan.

We also asked Dom about his future. He's injured, but not retired ... not at all. In fact, Cruz is still the 9th-ranked bantamweight and is eyeing another run at the belt once he gets healthy.

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson says she's been iced out of network TV amid her campaign ... but says moving to TikTok has done wonders.

Williamson, formerly known as the "spiritual advisor" to Oprah Winfrey, joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday, chatting about not being able to bring her campaign to TV. She says she eventually realized the social media app would bring a lot of power to her cause.

She says the platform's been a great way to reach young U.S. voters ... and according to her, there's a shocking difference in intelligence on TikTok compared to on big news orgs.

As for the old stigma that young folks aren't rocking the vote, she says that's BS -- and tells us exactly why.

For those unaware, Williamson is 1 of 2 Democrats -- RFK Jr. being the other -- running against current prez, Joe Biden ... and since the DNC doesn't normally hold debates when a current president is in the mix, her campaign has been crucial to getting the word out.

She also wasn't welcomed into the race by her fellow Democrats, and staffers from her 2020 campaign didn't think she should go for it, but her move to TikTok is seemingly helping.

Williamson has raked in over half a million followers -- the most on the app compared to other candidates -- and since making the switch, she's been polling above 20% with voters under 30.

Lisa Vanderpump's making it official ... Rachel Leviss is not coming back for season 11 of "Vanderpump Rules," even though she initially indicated to the big boss she was interested in rejoining the cast.

We got Lisa Thursday as she was heading to TomTom in WeHo, and when we asked about Rachel remaining on the sidelines ... she said they tried to accommodate her.

Lisa tells us she talked to Rachel about doing a one-on-one on-camera interview to focus on Rachel's growth and thoughts about being in a mental health facility during the Scandoval fallout.

Obviously, that didn't come to fruition, but Lisa says Rachel's team showed interest.

It's interesting ... Lisa says Rachel coming back to film with the rest of the cast probably would not have worked anyways, because most, if not all, of the cast doesn't believe anything that comes out of Rachel's mouth.

Case in point ... this week, Rachel claimed Tom Sandoval was offered a producer credit for season 11, but Lisa tells us that notion is "hilarious" and news to her as an executive producer and show creator.

A Bravo spokesperson also confirmed to us Sandoval was never offered a producer credit on season 11, and has absolutely no creative control over any 'VPR' editing.

Sandoval and Tom Schwartz were also at TomTom after LV broke the news Rachel's not coming back ... and they had 2 very different reactions.

In any event, Rachel's gonna have plenty of time for spa appointments over in her home state of Arizona.

Quinton Aaron -- the man who played Michael Oher in "The Blind Side" -- is furious with those clamoring for Sandra Bullock to lose her Oscar over the new Oher drama ... telling TMZ Sports the actress has absolutely nothing to do with any of it.

The cry for Bullock to be stripped of the award gained steam on X on Tuesday ... with a bunch of users on the app saying following Oher's claims that Leigh Anne Tuohy lied to him and exploited him -- the woman who played her in "The Blind Side" should now face punishment.

As crazy as the opinion sounds -- the cries grew louder and louder throughout the day ... but Aaron told us he hopes all of that dies down quickly.

"To make a statement like that doesn't make any sense," Aaron said. "Sandra Bullock didn't have anything to do with the real story that we're reading as of right now."

Of course, Bullock earned the honor back in 2010 ... after she played the role of Aaron's fictitious mom in the 2009 hit flick. And, Aaron says she couldn't have been more deserving of the praise at the time.

"She gave a brilliant performance," Aaron said. "And that shouldn't be tarnished for something that had nothing to do with her."

Aaron also spoke with us about all of the new allegations surrounding the Tuohys ... and while he said he hasn't talked to them since the movie came out, he didn't get a vibe that anything nefarious was happening with regards to their relationship with Oher.

"I got a good sense from all of them," he said. "They were real cool to me."

As for where things stand now with the Tuohys and Oher ... it's all gotten super ugly, as the family has now accused the former football player of trying to shake them down for $15 million.

You can't lose with Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, or Nate Diaz ... BUT, given a choice of the three opponents, UFC legend Chuck Liddell knows the fight he'd like to see.

Nate Diaz vs. The Notorious III!

TMZ Sports caught up with Liddell at LAX this week ... and asked him about Conor's next fight.

"All those would be an interesting fight but I think Nate Diaz, run it back to do it one more time. That'd be fun to watch."

Of course, McGregor's supposed to fight Chandler, who is coaching opposite him on "The Ultimate Fighter." Though, after Gaethje's win over Dustin Poirier a few weeks ago, Conor went at Justin on social media.

Then there's Nate ... who just lost a boxing match to Jake Paul. The guys have obviously fought twice in the past, with each man winning one. They've always said they want to complete the trilogy, which would arguably be the biggest in the promotion's history.

"It will be fun. I think it will be real competitive, I think it's a good one to come back to."

Out of the three options, Chuck makes it clear he wants Conor and Nate. As for how it'll go, The Iceman thinks it'll be a close fight.

Speaking of Diaz and Paul, we also asked Liddell if he bought what Jake was selling ... when he said he could beat Nate with 8-9 months of MMA training.

Chuck isn't so sure.

"That tells me [Jake] just doesn't understand the difference. He has no clue what the difference between MMA and boxing."

Liddell explained some of the challenges when going from boxing to mixed martial arts.

"It's funny [Paul] usually fights two weight classes below him, he likes to pick guys that are a lot smaller than him but Nate's a good jiu-jitsu guy, he's a good grappler and he knows how to fight MMA," Chuck told us.

"There's a different stance, everything changes. You add kicks, you gotta change your stance, you can't stand in boxing stance. I hit you so, it hurts so bad in the first round, you got one round to knock me out."

Take a hard look at Aljamain Sterling when he fights Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 'cause it could be the last time Aljo competes in the bantamweight division ... the UFC champ tells us he wants to move up and dethrone featherweight champ Alex Volkanovski.

Whether or not it is his last scrap at 135 lbs., 34-year-old Sterling seemed to indicate he may not be around the Octagon much longer.

"I think [it could be my last at 135]. I think I go out there, dominate O'Malley the way I think I'm gonna dominate him, send that naked mole rat back to wherever he's from, the hole he crawled out of," Sterling told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

The bantamweight king continued ... "We set our sights on Volkanovski. Go up to 145, cause some terror there. Win the belt, become champ-champ, and then from there, possibly defend the belt one or two times and maybe that's all she wrote for the MMA career."

Of course, in order to be double champ, Aljamain must defeat Suga on August 19 in Boston ... a fight that's been talked about for years.

"It's cool to be going to Dana White's backyard and bringing in a good show. We're the headliners. We get to end the night, try to end the night on a good night, on a high night, and it's an opportunity for me to really make more history, get another bag, and rob the bank."

"I'm looking forward to robbing the bank vs. Sean O'Malley and showing Mr. High Fructose Corn Syrup why there's levels to this game."

If Sterling does ultimately retire from MMA in the near future, we asked him what he do as his second act.

"Maybe I start boxing after," Aljo said, laughing.

The mom suing Southwest Airlines for accusing her of child trafficking says it's really a case of racial profiling ... and adds, there's a better way to protect kids if the airline would train its employees better.

Mary MacCarthy joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live," telling us why she feels her daughter's race was the only reason Southwest reported her, back in 2021, to Denver PD.

For those unaware, Mary and her child, Moira -- who was 10 at the time -- were flying to Colorado because Mary's brother had died, but cops greeted them as soon as they landed.

Southwest employees suspected Mary was trafficking Moira.

Mary insists the airline's only red flag was skin color -- she is white, while her daughter is biracial -- and she told us the misunderstanding could've been cleared up, if a crew member had spoken to them instead of calling police.

She also claims she never got a proper apology from the airline and is still waiting for it to admit fault for racially profiling them.