Interview

Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid says Jann Wenner's comments about Black and female artists don't come as a total shock to him -- and he's calling on some white rock legends to speak out, but only if they keep it real.

Vernon joined us Monday on "TMZ Live," telling us why the Rolling Stone co-founder calling some iconic Black and female artists inarticulate was "staggering, but not surprising at all."

Keep in mind, Wenner was referring to people like Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell and Grace Slick.

If anything, Vernon's glad Wenner put, in his opinion, his true self out there for all to see.

Maybe the more shocking part is that Vernon says thoughts and feelings like Wenner's are not new to the music industry -- it's just rare for anyone to say it out loud.

TMZ broke the story ... Wenner was kicked out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Board of Directors after sharing his controversial thoughts in an interview with the NYT -- discussing his upcoming book, "The Masters," which highlights his interviews with 7 white, male artists.

In Vernon's opinion, folks in the book like Bruce Springsteen and Bono should speak out about Wenner's comments, on one condition -- that it comes from the heart, rather than issuing performative statements for PR purposes.

Junior dos Santos dropped his last 5 fights prior to his Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA scrap against Fabricio Werdum ... but the MMA legend tells TMZ Sports the win over the former UFC champ has reinvigorated his career!

"Just the fact that [the fans] were willing, they were excited to see me fighting again," dos Santos told us days after his fight.

"It's the main factor for me that makes me motivated because I know I still have a lot of good performances left on me. We're always ready to put on a good show."

Of course, 39-year-old dos Santos beat 46-year-old Werdum by split decision during the main event of Jorge Masvidal's promotion, Gamebred Fighting Championship 5, which featured two former UFC champs battling it out sans gloves.

As for how much longer he'll fight ... here's what "Cigano" had to say.

"Right now I go to the gym and I see my performance, I see the love, everything is there. I want to keep going."

"As soon as I go to the gym or I'm fighting or something like that and I'm not delivering anymore, I'll tell myself, I'll see that, I cannot do this anymore. This is kind of dangerous for me ... but right now I feel great!"

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

We also talked to Junior about two of his former opponents ... Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. Both men have big-time bouts coming up ... Stipe vs. Jon Jones and "The Predator" vs. heavyweight boxing king Tyson Fury.

Si Brett Favre tuviera las cosas a su manera, la carrera de Deion Sanders como entrenador habría sido muy diferente hasta este punto, le dijo a TMZ Sports que en realidad trató de conseguir el Salón de la Fama para hacerse cargo de Southern Miss antes de que aterrizara su juego en Jackson State.

La leyenda de los Packers dice que su reclutamiento de Sanders a su alma mater ocurrió hace unos años, cuando el hijo de Deion, Shedeur, era un estudiante de secundaria mirando potencialmente asistir a USM.

En ese momento, el entrenador de los Golden Eagles, Jay Hopson, acababa de dimitir y Favre dice que intentó por todos los medios que Prime ocupara el puesto vacante.

"Sabía que haría un gran trabajo", dijo Favre, que jugó con Sanders en Atlanta en la temporada 1991. "Sabía las cosas que necesitábamos en Southern Miss, él marcaba las casillas. Atención, entusiasmo, llevar a la gente a los asientos. Él habría hecho eso".

"Y, sabía que los jugadores le seguirían", añadió Favre. "Por no mencionar que habríamos tenido a su hijo, que probablemente será uno de los finalistas al Heisman este año".

Por supuesto, Deion nunca se hizo cargo de la USM y en su lugar acabó en la JSU, donde dominó durante dos años. Finalmente dejó Jackson por la Univ. de Colorado donde actualmente tiene a los Buffs en el puesto nº 18 del país.

If Brett Favre had things his way, Deion Sanders' coaching career would've looked a whole lot different to this point ... telling TMZ Sports he actually tried to get the Hall of Famer to take over at Southern Miss before he landed his Jackson State gig.

The Packers legend says his recruitment of Sanders to his alma mater happened a few years ago -- back when Deion's son, Shedeur, was a high schooler looking at potentially attending USM.

At the time, Golden Eagles head coach Jay Hopson had just resigned ... and Favre says he tried like hell to get Prime to fill the vacant role.

"I knew he would do a great job," said Favre, who played with Sanders in Atlanta in the 1991 season. "I knew the things that we needed at Southern Miss, he checked the boxes. Attention, enthusiasm, getting people in the seats. He would've done that."

"And, I knew players would follow him," Favre added. "Not to mention, we'd have gotten his son, who's probably going to be one of the Heisman finalists this year."

Of course, Deion never took over at USM ... and instead, he ended up at JSU, where he dominated for two years. He ultimately left Jackson for the Univ. of Colorado -- where he's currently got the Buffs ranked No. 18 in the country.

Andrew Yang says voters are disenchanted about President Joe Biden battling Donald Trump in an election day rematch ... which is why he wants to see the other Democrat candidates get some shine.

The former presidential candidate was on "TMZ Live" Wednesday, talking about why he wants Biden to go toe-to-toe in a debate with the 2 Dem challengers -- RFK Jr. and Marianne Williamson.

The way Andrew sees it, another round of 2020's political battle isn't what Americans want, especially with JB and DT both getting up in age. Hence, his push to shake things up.

As we reported, Williamson claims she's getting iced out of network and cable news outlets amid her campaign. For now, she's wisely relying on TikTok to spread word and help her cause.

Andrew says some news organizations are told to not give a spotlight to folks like Williamson or RFK Jr., but he's adamant the fair way to handle things is to give them a platform, too -- especially since they're polling higher than some Republican candidates.

BTW, Andrew left the Democratic party in 2021 and created the Forward Party, a centrist political organization that has been trying to make strides at the local level. His org already declared it won't be putting up a presidential candidate for 2024.

Andrew Yang dice que los votantes están cansados de ver al presidente Joe Biden y Donald Trump luchando por una revancha el día de las elecciones, razón por la cual le gustaría ver a otros candidatos demócratas brillar en esta oportunidad.

El ex candidato presidencial estuvo en "TMZ Live" el miércoles, hablando de por qué quiere que Biden vaya a un debate mano a mano con los dos aspirantes demócratas RFK Jr. y Marianne Williamson.

Desde la perspectiva de Andrew, tener otra versión de la batalla política de 2020 no es lo que los estadounidenses quieren, especialmente con Joe Biden y Donald Trump cada vez más mayores. De ahí sus ganas de sacudir un poco las cosas.

Como ya informamos, Williamson afirma que está siendo ignorada por las cadenas y medios de noticias en medio de su campaña. Por ahora, confía sabiamente en TikTok para correr la voz y ayudar a su causa.

Andrew dice que a algunas organizaciones de noticias se les pide que no den protagonismo a personas como Williamson o RFK Jr., pero él insiste en que la manera justa de manejar las cosas es darles también una plataforma, sobre todo porque están obteniendo mejores resultados en las encuestas que algunos candidatos republicanos.

Por cierto, Andrew abandonó el Partido Demócrata en 2021 y creó el Forward Party, una organización política centrista que ha estado intentando avanzar a nivel local. Su organización ya declaró que no presentará un candidato presidencial para 2024.

The K-9 that subdued escaped prisoner Danelo Cavalcante -- to end a 2-week long manhunt  -- had a massive area to search, but one law enforcement expert says the pup is the perfect officer for the job.

Michael Gould used to train K-9's for NY police departments, and he joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to explain the training thsese 4-legged officers go through to locate an escapee -- and he says Cavalcante's capture played out almost perfectly.

Michael says dogs go through a lot of training to learn to pick up on a human scent, and he tells us why Cavalcante waiting out in the woods for an extended period made it possible for the pup to sniff him out.

We also talked with Michael about the potential of a dog subduing a suspect like Cavalcante, and turning to deadly force if its trainer isn't nearby.

While he thinks it's natural for people to resist while being chomped on, a simple voice command from the trainer could call off a dog.

As we reported, Cavalcante, who is a convicted murderer, was arrested Wednesday morning by SWAT teams and a Border Patrol Tactical Unit in Pennsylvania after 14 days of hunting. The K-9 left a minor bite wound on his scalp while he tried to break free.

Warren Moon doesn't think Aaron Rodgers' Achilles tear will end the quarterback's career ... telling TMZ Sports he's betting the Jets star will make another run at things in 2024.

"Knowing Aaron Rodgers," the Hall of Famer said, "I don't think he wants to go out like this."

Rodgers blew out the tendon on just the fourth play of his Jets career Monday night ... and many have wondered if his time in the NFL is now over.

After all, he turns 40 in December ... and he spent a significant portion of this offseason already pondering retirement -- well before he was dealing with a serious leg injury.

But Moon thinks Aaron will get back on the gridiron eventually ... saying, "My gut tells me that he's probably going to try it one more time."

"Just because he feels like this isn't the way he wants to end his career," Moon added, "four plays into this season."

Moon anticipates it'll be about an eight-to-nine-month recovery for Rodgers ... which will mean he'll have plenty of time in the offseason to ramp up for one more go at things in the Big Apple.

In the meantime, Moon tells us if he were running the Jets ... he wouldn't tap a veteran like Matt Ryan or Carson Wentz to be the new starter -- saying NY should just run with Zach Wilson as its QB1.

Jonathan Majors just wanted to satisfy his craving for In-N-Out, but stopped a beatdown instead ... swooping in the middle of a high school fight to break things up.

We got the actor in West Hollywood Monday, hours after stopping 2 girls from fighting each other at the fast-food chain -- at a location next to Hollywood High School.

Jonathan's not sure what sparked the brawl, but makes it clear he just wanted to make sure folks didn't get hurt in the scuffle, so he stepped in. Jonathan's also hoping the girls are doing alright after the fight, and he's got some cool & simple words for those involved.

As we reported, Jonathan is currently in the middle of a legal battle with his ex-girlfriend -- he was arrested in March for misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment after allegedly slapping her in a taxi.

Jonathan Majors sólo quería satisfacer su antojo de In-N-Out, pero en su lugar decidió detener una pelea de estudiantes secundarias en el lugar, abalanzándose sobre ellas para acabar con el pleito.

Nos encontramos con el actor en West Hollywood el lunes, horas después de que parara una riña entre dos chicas en un restaurante de la cadena junto a Hollywood High School.

Jonathan no está seguro sobre cuál fue el motivo que provocó la pelea, pero deja claro que sólo quería asegurarse de que las chicas no salieran heridas en la refriega. Por eso intervino. Jonathan también espera que las muchachas se encuentren bien, y tiene palabras de buena onda y amabilidad para ellas.

Como informamos, Jonathan se encuentra actualmente en medio de una batalla legal con su ex novia. Fue detenido en marzo por un delito menor de asalto, acoso agravado, intento de asalto, y acoso después de supuestamente abofetearla en un taxi.

Ricky Williams was one of the best running backs of his era ... but he says he had the potential to dominate in a completely different sport -- the former Miami Dolphins standout tells TMZ Sports he could have been an All-Star if he pursued a career on the baseball diamond!!

Before he made his way to the NFL gridiron, Ricky -- whose legal name is now Errick Miron -- played several seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies' farm system while juggling his time with the Texas Longhorns football team.

Ricky -- an 8th-round pick to the Phils in the '95 MLB Amateur Draft -- was an outfielder for the organization's rookie league and Single-A teams for four years ... and footage of one of his early games actually exists!!

So when we caught up with Ricky last week, we asked if he's ever wondered how things would've panned out had he switched his focus to baseball ... and he believes he had the skills to hang with the big leaguers.

"I wouldn't say I was great, I had a lot of potential," Ricky told us. "I love to get better at things. If I would have devoted my full time to baseball, I would have been an All-Star baseball player."

So, what led him to football instead of baseball?? A pretty understandable reason.

"It's a fantasy, but the reality is I'm kind of the person where 162 games -- that's too much for me.

"Football is intense, but you got a nice offseason. That's more my speed."

Safe to say it all worked out -- Ricky won the Heisman Trophy in 1998 ... and went on to rush for more than 10,000 yards in his career.

Ricky Williams fue uno de los mejores corredores de su época, pero dice que tenía el potencial para dominar en un deporte completamente diferente. El ex jugador de los Miami Dolphins le comentó a TMZ Sports que podría haber sido una estrella si hubiera comenzado una carrera en el béisbol.

Antes de forjar su camino en la NFL, Ricky —cuyo nombre legal es ahora Errick Miron— jugó varias temporadas con los Filis de Filadelfia, mientras hacía malabares con su tiempo con el equipo de fútbol de Texas Longhorns.

Ricky, elegido en la octava ronda del Draft de Aficionados de la MLB de 1995, fue jardinero de los equipos de la liga de novatos y de la liga Single-A durante cuatro años... ¡¡y existen imágenes de uno de sus primeros partidos!

Así que cuando nos pusimos al día con Ricky la semana pasada, le preguntamos si alguna vez se había preguntado cómo habrían ido las cosas si hubiera cambiado su enfoque al béisbol ... y él cree que tenía las habilidades para estar con los grandes jugadores de liga.

"No diría que era genial, pero tenía mucho potencial", nos dijo Ricky. "Me encanta mejorar. Si me hubiera dedicado a tiempo completo al béisbol, habría sido un jugador de béisbol All-Star".

Entonces, ¿qué le llevó al fútbol en lugar del béisbol? Una razón bastante comprensible.

"Es una fantasía, pero la realidad es que soy una persona en la que 162 partidos... eso es demasiado para mí.

"El fútbol es intenso, pero tienes una buena temporada baja. Ese es más mi ritmo".

Ricky ganó el Trofeo Heisman en 1998 y llegó a correr más de 10.000 yardas en su carrera.

Themba Gorimbo won't give up his couch at the gym just yet ... 'cause even after Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson bought him a new apartment, the UFC star tells TMZ Sports he'll still be catching Zs on that sofa!!

"It belongs to me," Gorimbo said about his beloved furniture he famously rested on at his gym in Florida.

"When the fight camp kicks in, six weeks from the fight, I'll probably go back to the gym and sleep on that couch."

Don't get it twisted, Themba LOVES the apartment The Rock hooked him and his family up with earlier this year -- as a matter of fact, Gorimbo was sitting in the living room when we spoke with him.

But, that gym couch has sentimental value and serves as a reminder ... as it's the bed Gorimbo slept on during the start of his UFC career, before he linked up with the WWE legend.

Gorimbo added he still can't wrap his head around the great lengths Johnson has gone to help him out after hearing about how he only had $7 to his name.

"With the blessing that he gave me, you know, giving me a place to stay, and having to do everything that he's done for me ... for me, it's a blessing from God," the 11-4 fighter said. "It is really, really, really surreal."

Gorimbo says everything The Rock has done for him has made him more determined to become a UFC champion ... and it's also placed a target on his back amongst other fighters.

Gorimbo -- who won his last fight against Takashi Soto in May -- isn't fazed at all ... and is anticipating his next match in December.

"I believe that once we sign a fight to fight each other, I'm gonna beat you and I'm gonna win," Gorimbo said.

Jake Paul says Dillon Danis is doing exactly what Logan expected by spewing nonstop trash talk leading up to their boxing match ... telling TMZ Sports lines have been crossed, but at the end of the day -- it's only making his brother richer.

The Problem Child joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs on FS1) ... and he got into all things boxing, Betr ... and, of course, Logan's current arch nemesis.

In case you've been hiding under a rock, Danis has been unloading on Logan and his fiancée, Nina Agdal, on social media ... posting hundreds of pictures of the model with her previous boyfriends and other random men in an attempt to embarrass his opponent.

Many critics are going after Danis for bringing an innocent bystander into the prefight antics ... and while Jake agrees the former Bellator MMA fighter has sometimes gone too far, Logan is ultimately winning.

"My brother could've fought anybody, and he picks this kid who he knows is gonna make the fight massive," Jake said. "And right now, everybody wants to see the fight because of the things that are being said."

"So, all of that, all the pay-per-views are going directly into my brother's pocket, and that's why Dillon was picked. At the end of the day, Dillon's a puppet."

As for Paul's boomin' Betr business, he also talked about its new fantasy vertical, Betr Picks ... which is here just in time for NFL Week 1.

Jake explained Betr -- which also just launched in Virginia -- is way more than just a money-making opportunity for him ... as he's truly passionate about putting together the best possible user experience.

"Our goal is to make the product the best in the space, and the fans are the ones who are really gonna win here."

Ex-NFL star Ricky Williams says the league is moving in the right direction by loosening its stance on cannabis in recent years ... but tells TMZ Sports he's hoping Roger Goodell's organization goes one step further by allowing teams to treat players with marijuana after games.

Ricky -- who was suspended five times and missed a chunk of his career for violating the league's substance abuse policy -- believes society is going through a big transformation when it comes to accepting the benefits of cannabis and psychedelics ... and he's hoping the NFL follows suit.

FYI -- the NFL changed its marijuana policy in 2021 ... electing to only test players once a year and handing down less punishment if someone is popped for the drug.

Ricky is thrilled with the league's changed stance on cannabis but feels it would have great benefits for players if they were encouraged to use marijuana instead of pills during recovery.

"I think the next step, though, is at the end of a game, if we're on the plane ride home, the trainer is walking down the aisle and has two capsule cases -- one of Ambien, and the other one of Vicodin," Williams said. "And he's walking down the aisle and saying, 'Do you need any of this, do you need any of this?'"

"And the truth is, for football players, we do need something because it hurts, and you're all revved up and it's hard to calm down go to sleep. And I'd love to see cannabis as being one of those things that the trainer is walking down the aisle and offering to those players."

Ricky -- who legally changed his name to Errick Miron recently -- has been an advocate for the cause for decades ... and is outspoken on the positive effects cannabis had on his mental health throughout his career.

Now, Ricky's own lifestyle brand, "Highsman," is going strong ... and he said the whole experience has been nothing but positive.

Justin Gatlin is officially retired from competing, but that doesn't mean the USA track legend's done running ... in fact, the Olympic gold medalist is currently perfecting his 40-yard dash, and believes he can run a blistering 4.19 seconds!

"The project is Project 40. I ran a 4.2 yesterday, first day of practice," Gatlin told Michael Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

FYI, the fastest 40 ever electronically timed at the NFL Combine was 4.22 by John Ross in 2017. Chris Johnson holds the second-best time at 4.24.

Justin believes he can beat that time by a substantial margin.

"I'm thinking a 4.19. I definitely can dip under the 4.2s, for sure!" Gatlin said confidently.

Ultimately, Gatlin wants to train athletes to be quicker on the field or court.

"I've been training since I've left the world of track and field and I have an idea that I wanna be able to do speed agility training or professional athletes, being football, baseball, basketball, that's why we're here."

Justin says they're often a debate about who's faster ... and while he does want to rep for the track athletes, he also wants to help out other pros in different sports.

"There's a lot of talk about track and field athletes and football players, who's faster and I said you know what, this is what we work on. We work on speed constantly and I wanna show the world that we understand speed, we're the king of speed but I also wanna teach speed to other athletes that want [to learn.]"

Justin sure sounds like someone who still has the competitive juices flowing ... so we asked him if there was a chance he could make a comeback competitively, despite being 41 years old.

"Let's say if I get myself back into shape and say 'Hey, you know what? I wanna get back in track and field,' especially Olympic year coming up, it's not far-fetched."

"I've been away from the track, what, I retired in 2021? I'm not that far off. I think that if I wanna come back, I can make that Olympic team for sure."

There's more with Gatlin ... including whether he'd be down to race Tyreek Hill -- "Cheetah" -- who most fans believe to be the fastest player in the NFL.

So, would Justin race Cheetah? Damn straight.

"I think [Tyreek's] a remarkable athlete. He has a big background in track and field. He grew up running track and field. He still uses track and field workouts to make sure his speed on the football field is superior."

Gatlin continued ...  "And when it comes to me racing Tyreek, holla at me in about eight weeks. I'll be ready for you, man. If you want that, I can give you that smoke.

We also talked to Justin about Noah Lyles ... both his epic performance at World's and his shading of NBA "world champions!"