Religion/ Spirituality

Team USA star Sydney McLaughlin is rockin' more than just an Olympic gold medal around her neck ... she's also wearing an engagement ring on her hand after her boyfriend proposed -- and she said "YES!!!"

The 22-year-old sprinter revealed the awesome news on Wednesday -- penning a beautiful love note to her future hubby, ex-NFL receiver Andre Levrone.

"I fall in love with you more and more each day off of the strength of your faith," McLaughlin said on Instagram.

"Andre, you are the most God-fearing, passionate, honest, loving, hard working, protective, and genuine man I’ve ever met."

Unsure how long the two have been dating but the couple went IG official when Levrone shared a photo of them together in December 2020.

"The calling God has on our lives goes far beyond our love for one another. This union will impact lives for His kingdom, and that’s what excites me most."

"You're the perfect man to lead me, and I cannot wait to follow."

Of course, McLaughlin just got back from the Tokyo Olympics, winning the gold and setting a record time of 51.46 seconds in the women's 400 meters hurdle.

Her fiancé is also an athlete -- the 26-year-old WR entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2018 ... and played for the Ravens, Jaguars and Panthers before retiring in September 2020. He's currently a project engineer.

Rihanna's fashion show nearly got a musical artist decapitated, because they played the wrong version of a song at a fashion show ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Rihanna's Fenty brand is being sued by a musician who claims RiRi's company reached out to use one of her songs during a Savage X Fenty show last fall, but screwed up by playing a version of the song that included a sample of sacred Islamic proverbs being chanted.

The artist, who's filed the suit as Jane Doe to protect her identity, claims she immediately got threats on her life when the fashion show was live-streamed to millions.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, the artist made it clear to Fenty reps one version of the song had the religious verses and one did not, and she warned them not to use the Islamic proverbs.

Despite a public apology from Rihanna following the immediate backlash, the artist claims she was forced into hiding after receiving a barrage of death threats over the song. She claims the constant threat of being decapitated and murdered led to anxiety and depression. The artist also tweeted an apology for unknowingly including the sample in her song.

Also of note ... we've learned that once Rihanna's team found out the song played during the Fenty show contained the offensive lyrics it was edited out of future viewings.

The artist says she still fears for her life and remains in hiding ... and she's going after Rihanna's business arm for more than $10 million in damages.

Meyers Leonard is continuing his fight against anti-Semitism -- teaming up with a top anti-hate organization to speak at a virtual seminar ... just months after the NBA player dropped a slur while gaming online.

We're told 29-year-old Meyers has joined forces with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) ... and is set to speak at a webinar on August 19 ... with the hopes of stemming the rise in hateful speech.

The class -- which will also feature 2-time WNBA champ and Israel national basketball team member Alysha Clark -- will focus on the importance of education on anti-Semitism.

The speakers will also discuss the Holocaust.

It's just the latest way Leonard -- who is currently an NBA free agent -- is trying to repent ... by spreading awareness about the horrors of hate language.

Back in June, Meyers got emotional when speaking to a group of Jewish kids at a synagogue in Florida ... saying, "I owe everybody, truly, a sincere apology."

Of course, the apology came after Leonard found himself in some scalding-hot water after using an anti-Semitic slur while playing "Call of Duty: Warzone on Twitch back in March.

Meyers was immediately placed on indefinite leave by the Miami Heat and lost out on a ton of business deals -- including his relationship with gaming juggernaut, FaZe Clan.

Dog the Bounty Hunter's gearing up to wed his fiancee very soon, and he doesn't feel bad about remarrying anymore following the death of his wife, Beth ... because God approves.

Dog just revealed his major life news on the podcast, "Two Guys from Hollywood," telling the cohosts his wedding to Francie Frane is scheduled to go down September 2 ... and the venue's more expensive than he'd like!!!

As we reported ... Dog and Francie got engaged in May 2020 -- 10 months after Beth died of cancer -- and Francie also lost her spouse to cancer shortly before Dog did.

The couple is obviously still going strong, and Dog says though he initially felt uneasy about getting remarried after losing Beth ... that all changed when he read some scripture.

Dog says he found a passage in The Bible that says, "God does not want a man to be alone, that he knows we need a companion, whether we're man or woman."

Now, that doesn't sound like an exact Old Testament quote -- we think he's referring to Genesis 2:18 -- but you get the idea.

Nick Cannon and Kevin Hart are celebrating Nick's return to hosting "Wild 'N Out" after ViacomCBS fired him over anti-Semitic remarks -- and all the bad blood's been replaced by some sweet-ass cake!

Nick's back to his old job, and with season 16 returning to TV sets Tuesday night, Monday called for a special celebration ... complete with a surprise for NC!!!

As you can see, Nick was totally caught off guard when production wheeled in a huge custom cake and folks started singing.

Nick, dressed in a suit and red turban, made a short speech ... and Kevin hilariously tried to take credit for the surprise, even though he struggled to understand the cake's design.

It's clear there are no lingering hard feelings about the controversy that led to Nick's 2020 firing.

Allison Josephs has had it with Hollywood's portrayal of the Orthodox Jewish community, and believes "My Unorthodox Life" is the latest contributor to negative stereotypes she calls downright dangerous.

We got the "Jew in the City" founder outside the Peninsula Hotel in NYC, and she had some stern reactions to the controversial new Netflix series about Julia Haart -- CEO of modeling agency Elite World Group -- who left her Haredi community in 2013.

Josephs has several issues, first and foremost with Julia ... who she accuses of co-opting someone else's story and not being entirely truthful. She also blasts Haart for generalizing her former Jewish community as "fundamentalist" at a time when hate crimes against Jews are on the rise.

Allison goes on to say these recurring negative portrayals of the Orthodox community on TV and film are devastating ... and she's pleading with Hollywood execs to do better.

Jonathan Lipnicki is putting his MMA skills to good use ... trying to prevent more anti-Semitic attacks from happening in the L.A. area by escorting Orthodox Jews to temple.

We got the "Jerry Maguire" star in the Fairfax District near The Grove Friday, where he and fellow actor/martial artist Remi Franklin were on the ready to help worshipers safely enter and leave temple.

Jonathan and Remi organized after an attack last May ... where a group of pro-Palestinian men attacked Jewish diners outside Sushi Fumi.

The man in charge of directing Friday's Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony has just been fired hours before the start of the event ... after it was discovered he made a Holocaust joke in 1998.

Kentaro Kobayashi was canned Thursday after video surfaced of him making the wildly gross and inappropriate comment during a comedy act over two decades ago.

In the old clip, Kobayashi reportedly can be heard bringing up the Holocaust and saying, "Let's play the genocide of Jews."

Organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto said Thursday when the footage was brought to his attention ... he and other officials acted swiftly, removing Kobayashi from his high-ranking role.

"We found out that Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, has used a phrase ridiculing a historical tragedy," Hashimoto said.

"We deeply apologize for causing such a development the day before the opening ceremony and for causing troubles and concerns to many involved parties as well as the people in Tokyo and the rest of the country."

48-year-old Kobayashi later released an apology in a statement ... saying, "Entertainment should not make people feel uncomfortable. I understand that my stupid choice of words at that time was wrong, and I regret it."

The troubling news comes just days after one of the composers for the opening ceremony, Keigo Oyamada, pulled out of the event after he admitted to bullying a disabled classmate in the 1990s.

Hashimoto, though, insisted the opening ceremony will go on as planned despite it all ... saying Thursday, "we are going to open the Games tomorrow under this difficult situation."

As we previously reported, spectators will NOT be allowed at the ceremony ... as officials hope empty stadiums will help keep coronavirus from spreading.

Kirk Franklin's not down with ranking the greatest gospel artists of all time, because he says there's only one name that matters ... and no, it's not Kanye West!!!

The iconic choir director and gospel singer wasn't throwing any shade at Kanye -- quite the opposite -- but making a bigger point about the genre of Christian music ... telling us anybody can do it because it's for all of God's children.

With that mindset, Kirk says there shouldn't be a Mount Rushmore of gospel music -- notwithstanding he's considered to be a candidate -- because it's all about glorifying the man upstairs.

As for Kanye ... Kirk says he's tight with his "brother" and heaps praise on his musical talent ... calling him one of the greatest artists of all time.

Kim Kardashian knows how to steal the show -- even when she's visiting the home of the Pope -- and an eye-catching lace dress will do the job. Every time.

Kim did the opposite of blend in as a tourist Monday as she checked out Vatican City with Kate Moss and her daughter, Lila Grace. Kim was dressed in a striking off-the-shoulder white lace dress ... sure to make a nun or 2 blush.

Sources close to Kim tell TMZ she's in Italy for business meetings this week along with her biz partner Tracy Romulus, makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic and hairstylist Chris Appleton ... so it's no wonder she looks fab.

There are no exceptions to the strict dress code in the Sistine Chapel though, so we're told KK fully covered up her dress with a leather jacket when she went inside Pope Francis' residence.

And, we know what you're wondering, but no ... she did not have an audience with His Holiness, Pope Francis.

Along with the Sistine Chapel, Kim also took in a tour of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and visited the Colosseum in Rome on Sunday.

Pope Francis may be a superhero in the Catholic church, but he came face-to-face with a guy who's a hero to children everywhere ... including kids in hospitals he visits to cheer them up.

The Pope met with an amazing young man dressed in a full Spider-Man suit Wednesday in Vatican City. The costumed character was seated in the VIP section of the audience in the Vatican's San Damaso Courtyard.

That's because Spidey -- who's really 27-year-old Mattia Villardita from northern Italy -- was being honored for the work he does dressing up as superheroes and visiting sick children at hospitals to raise their spirits.

Villardita did his best to blend in while sitting in the crowd, but c'mon ... this is a sighting that definitely makes front page of the Daily Bugle.

After His Holiness finished with the general audience event, Spider-Man got an audience with him -- they shook hands, and the webbed wonder handed the Pontiff a mask of his own. He didn't put it on. Not immediately, anyway.

Powerful moment from NBA player Meyers Leonard ... who choked backed tears while addressing a group of Jewish kids at a temple in Florida, as he explained his regret for using an anti-Semitic slur back in March.

The 29-year-old took the mic at Boca Raton Synagogue over the weekend ... and began by saying, "I owe everybody, truly, a sincere apology."

As we previously reported, the former Miami Heat player was playing "Call of Duty" on March 9 when he hurled the K-word at an opposing player. The session was being live-streamed on Twitch at the time.

Twitch immediately blocked Leonard from the platform -- and the NBA hit Meyers with a $50k fine and a 1-week suspension.

Leonard apologized and vowed to educate himself about why the slur is dangerous and offensive ... and it's pretty obvious he's been putting in the work.

At least, according to Rabbi Efrem Goldberg ... who spoke glowingly about Meyers at Sunday's event -- praising him as a good dude and a "great friend of the Jewish community."

Rabbi Goldberg told the crowd, "Over the last 3 months, I’ve gotten to know Meyers off camera and off the court … I've gotten to know what's in his heart and who he is."

"Meyers has learned a lot about the Jewish community ... meeting with Holocaust survivors and reading books about Jewish history."

Leonard also opened up about life after the incident -- saying, "I've had a lot of really good moments and some pretty dark emotional moments but I just like to say, again, I'm so, so thankful for the people in the Jewish community whether it's a little kid, a teenager, a high schooler or a rabbi."

Joe Lara -- the star of "Tarzan: The Epic Adventures" -- has died after a small plane he, his wife and a few others were on crashed into a lake this weekend.

The private jet -- said to be a Cessna 501 -- took off Saturday from Smyrna Airport, just outside of Nashville, and was reportedly headed toward Palm Beach, FL ... but somehow plunged into Percy Priest Lake not too long after takeoff.

Fire and other rescue crews were dispatched to the scene -- but, after an all-night operation -- authorities say the passengers were found to be deceased ... and their families were notified. An investigation is underway to determine what might've caused the crash.

Lara was one of seven people who were killed. The others are his spouse -- Christian diet guru Gwen Lara -- Jennifer J. Martin, David L. Martin, Jessica Walters, Jonathan Walters, and Brandon Hannah, all of whom are locals and reported to be part of the same church.

JL is famous from his TV days, when he played the king of the jungle between 1996 and 2000 ... starring as Tarzan for a total of 22 episodes, including a TV movie that came out years prior called "Tarzan in Manhattan" -- which catapulted him into the role.

He'd been in other action/fantasy projects over the years -- including "Steel Frontier," "Sunset Heat," "Gunsmoke: The Last Apache," "American Cyborg: Steel Warrior" "The Magnificent Seven," "Baywatch" and "Tropical Heat," among several others. Lara had 28 acting credits to his name.

Lara married Gwen Shamblin in 2018 -- who's famous for founding the Remnant Fellowship Church as well as the Weigh Down Workshop ... a weight loss program that was big in the '80s and '90s among churchgoers and others.

Gwen and Joe leave behind three children. He was 58 and she was 66.

Danny Masterson claims Leah Remini was pushing the LAPD to get him prosecuted in his rape case ... and threatened to put them on blast if they dropped the ball.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Masterson claims Leah's meddling in his case was so outrageous she had an LAPD detective named Becker, who allegedly moonlighted as her bodyguard, making calls about his rape case.

In docs, Masterson claims this police officer/bodyguard "had a history of trying to influence LAPD investigations" at Leah's direction. Masterson claims when the cop contacted Austin PD in 2016 about Jane Doe 3's police report, the Austin PD detective was so taken aback by it she wrote in her report "Becker has no professional investigative interest in this report, as he does not investigate sexual assault cases. It is later revealed he is Leah Remini’s close friend.'"

Masterson claims Leah personally made phone calls to the lead investigator on the case and that the LAPD actively encouraged her to participate in the investigation. And, get this ... Masterson claims a detective on the case went as far as telling her she's "vital to the investigation."

Masterson also claims Leah discussed telling the Jane Doe stories on her TV show, "Scientology and the Aftermath." He claims she had spoken to the girls and had intentions of putting them on her series.

The collusion runs so deep, Masterson claims, Leah wanted to attend the DA's interviews of the women, and he alleges the Deputy DA played ball for a while ... before things went south between Leah and prosecutors.

In the docs, Masterson claims Leah threatened the prosecution with a negative PR campaign, saying, "I told [Det.] Reyes from the beginning, ‘I’m telling you, if you screw this up I’m putting you and the whole LAPD on Blast. Not because I want to, but because they deserve to be heard.’ And you can’t keep being in business with the Church of Scientology because you have no balls.”

As we reported, Masterson claimed Leah's anti-Scientology campaign is the driving force behind the accusations in his rape case.

Bella Hadid took to the streets over the conflict in the Middle East, marching in support of the Palestinians.

The march, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, drew thousands of people who showed their support. Bella, whose father Mohamed Hadid is from Palestine, wore a Keffiyeh, a traditional dress, as she waved a Palestinian flag.

The march fell on Nakba Day, marking the 1948 conflict which resulted in Israel declaring its independence and many Palestinians being displaced.

Both Bella and her sister, Gigi, have been active in speaking out about the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Bella posted photos of the march, saying, "The way my heart feels.. To be around this many beautiful, smart, respectful, loving , kind and generous Palestinians all in one place... it feels whole ! We are a rare breed!!"

DJ Khaled is getting dragged online for posting videos of women in bikinis twerking on a yacht ... and it's all because it coincided with the most holy month for Muslims.

Khaled, who was raised Muslim, posted some behind-the-scenes footage of what looks like a music video shoot for his song, "Body in Motion," featuring Lil Baby -- and yes, it features lots of scantily-clad hotties shaking their assets. The issue is he posted it Wednesday, the last day of Ramadan.

During Ramadan -- a holy month of fasting and prayer for Muslims -- both men and women are recommended to dress conservatively ... nothing tight or revealing, like the bikinis the women are wearing around Khaled in the video.

As you can see, Khaled is getting ripped for his post ... with some saying he's being disrespectful, especially in light of the situation in Palestine.