TikTok

It's happening ... huge hitmakers are being wiped from TikTok after the app failed to reach a deal with UMG -- something Rickey Thompson calls a game-changer, and a bummer.

We chatted with the social media star Wednesday in Bev Hills, and he told us the unfortunate development creates a massive dent in TikTok content ... 'cause the platform's best known for turning average folks into overnight stars with viral clips of them dancing to music from Taylor Swift, Drake and more.

As one of the most popular apps in the world, Ricky also acknowledges TikTok's a place many users go to discover their fave artist's new music -- so losing that is disappointing for fans and musicians alike.

The most positive spin on this upheaval is newer artists won't have to compete with established superstars to get their music out there -- but Rickey isn't entirely convinced that'll be the case.

On a positive note, he tells us the decision won't completely ruin the app ... it'll just limit what videos people can create without using music. So, for those who enjoy a little boogie on TikTok, he advises them to just do it on their own time.

For a quick rundown: Universal Music Group is yanking its artists' music off the platform after a tense standoff ... saying TT needed to pay more cash to license the tunes.

For its part, TikTok's accusing UMG of spinning a "false narrative" and says it has healthy 'artist-first' agreements with every other label and publisher.

Matters were clearly never resolved -- but Rickey says the whole thing doesn't actually affect him ... cause he's just there to make people laugh. No music needed!

Target está en la mira por vender en sus tiendas material sobre el Mes de la Historia Negra con información incorrecta, es decir, etiquetando erróneamente a los negros americanos históricos.

La inoportuna metedura de pata fue señalada por la TikToker @Issatete, que publicó un video ahora viral de lo que ella dice que encontró en un Target cerca de su casa. En el clip, muestra un libro de actividades de aprendizaje estilo imán llamado "Derechos Civiles".

Se trata de un minorista de productos para niños llamado Bendon, pero este usuario está enojado con Target por la venta de estos libros, los cuales argumenta que tienen nombres de figuras prominentes afroamericanas que no coinciden con sus fotos.

Échale un vistazo... verás de lo que está hablando. Hay por lo menos tres ejemplos de nombres completamente mal etiquetados, e Issa está enojada, llamándolo algo más que un descuido.

El usuario, que al parecer enseña historia de EE.UU., dio un resumen de los errores que notó de inmediato - por ejemplo, la imagen de Carter G. Woodson en este imán-libro es en realidad la activista de los derechos civiles W.E.B. Du Bois.

En otras partes del libro, la imagen etiquetada con el nombre de Du Bois es en realidad el educador y autor Booker T. Washington, mientras que el chasquido de Booker es en realidad Woodson. Menudo lío.

Issa dice que hay que tomar medidas de inmediato, escribiendo en el pie de foto que los errores ocurren, pero solo se necesita una persona para señalarlo y pedir correcciones. Ahora que ella tiene, ella está llamando a Target para eliminar este producto de su inventario.

La indignación continúa en los comentarios de Issa, ya que muchas personas se preguntan por qué nadie se molestó en corregir el libro al menos una vez.

El editor aún no ha respondido a la publicación viral, y aunque algunos van tan lejos como para afirmar que los errores fueron deliberados, tenemos que decir que parece poco probable, porque un error de etiquetado intencional como este es demasiado indignante para comprender.

No es el mejor momento para algo así, estamos en víspera del Mes de la Historia Negra. Difícil comienzo para Target y el editor del libro, sin duda.

8:18 PM PT -- A rep for Target tells TMZ ... "We will no longer be selling this product in stores or online. We’ve also ensured the product's publisher is aware of the errors."

Target's under fire for selling Black History Month material in their stores with factually incorrect info -- namely, grossly mislabeling historic Black Americans.

The ill-timed snafu was pointed out by TikToker @Issatete -- who posted a now-viral video of what she says she found in a Target near her. In the clip, she shows off a magnet-style learning activity book called "Civil Rights."

It comes from a children's product retailer called Bendon -- but this user is mad at Target for hawking these books, which she says have names of prominent Black figures mismatched to their photos.

Take a look ... you'll see what she's talking about. There are at least 3 examples of completely mislabeled names, and Issa is pissed, calling it more than just an oversight.

The user, who apparently teaches U.S. history, gave a rundown of the mistakes she immediately noticed -- for instance, the picture of Carter G. Woodson in this magnet-book is actually Pan-Africanist civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois.

Elsewhere in the book, the picture labeled with Du Bois' name is actually educator and author Booker T. Washington -- while Booker's snap is actually Woodson. Talk about a mess!

Issa says action needs to be taken immediately ... writing in the caption that mistakes happen, but it only takes one person to point it out and ask for corrections. Now that she has, she's calling on Target to remove this product from its inventory.

The outrage continues in Issa's comments as many people are asking why no one bothered to proofread the book at least once.

The publisher's yet to respond to the viral post, and although some are going so far as to claim the errors were deliberate ... we gotta say that seems unlikely, because an intentional mislabeling like this is too outrageous to comprehend.

Whatever happened, the timing couldn't be worse ... on this eve of Black History Month. Rough start for Target and the book's publisher, for sure.

We've reached out to Target and Bendon for comment ... so far, no word back.

TikTok y Universal Music Group (UMG) están en las últimas horas de un enfrentamiento épico, que implicará que toda la música del sello será eliminada de la aplicación más grande del mundo, y ninguna de las partes está cediendo.

UMG emitió un largo comunicado el martes defendiendo su postura en el contrato, el que está a punto de expirar esta medianoche, en donde acusa a TikTok de relajarse y hacerse "asquerosamente" rico sin pagar lo que consideran "justo".

Es por eso que están tomando la posición de sacar la música de sus artistas de la plataforma, pues sienten que TikTok debe pagar más para licenciar sus canciones.

Universal también argumentó que han aplicado todas las contramedidas que hay para asegurar que sus artistas estén protegidos de suplantación de identidad por IA y ciberseguridad, algo que TikTok no ha hecho por la industria de la música ni por sus fans.

El sello Big 3 tiene una enorme lista de artistas, incluyendo Taylor Swift, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, Ice Spice, Rosalía y docenas de otros nombres que pronto se verán afectados, pero UMG dice que tienen una mayor responsabilidad que atender.

TikTok contraatacó señalando que el problema es la clásica codicia de las corporaciones y acusaron a Universal de fomentar una "narrativa falsa". Además, señalaron que tienen acuerdos saludables con los artistas con cada sello y editor.

UMG ha estado revisando sus cuentas de cerca. A principios de enero, Variety informó de que el sello se estaba preparando para despedir a cientos de empleados, principalmente en la división de música grabada. Así que, a primera vista, parece que se están apretando el cinturón en todos los frentes.

Russ, el rapero, ha estado hablando sobre la política de la industria desde que se hizo totalmente independiente hace un par de años y también está haciendo sus críticas diciendo que ambas partes tienen demasiado en juego para dejar caer la pelota a medianoche. Él piensa que la cruzada de Universal para proteger a los artistas es simplemente el lenguaje que están usando para apaciguar sus propios asuntos.

TikTok and Universal Music Group are in the final hours of an epic standoff that will see all the label’s music removed from the world’s biggest app … and neither side is budging.

UMG let off a lengthy statement on Tuesday defending their stance on their waning contract -- which is set to expire at midnight -- accusing TikTok of sitting back and getting filthy rich off their product without "paying its fair share."

That's why they're now taking the position of yanking their artists' music off the platform ... basically, they feel TikTok needs to pay more cash to license their tunes.

Universal also argued they’ve applied every potential countermeasure available to ensure their artists are protected from AI impersonation and online security … something they say TikTok has failed to do for the music industry and its fans overall.

The Big 3 label has a huge roster ... Taylor Swift, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, Ice Spice, Rosalía -- and dozens of other superstar names will soon be affected, but UMG says they have a greater responsibility to uphold.

TikTok snapped back at UMG, pinpointing the issue on classic corporate GREED … they accused UMG of spinning a “false narrative” and noted they have healthy 'artist-first' agreements with every other label and publisher.

UMG has been monitoring its books closely ... earlier in January, Variety reported that UMG was preparing to fire hundreds of employees -- primarily targeting the recorded music division. So, on its face, it appears they're tightening their belt on all fronts.

Russ, the rapper, has been speaking out on industry politics since going fully independent a couple of years ago and he's weighing in here as well ... saying both parties have too much stake in the game to drop the ball at midnight. He thinks UMG's crusade to protect the artists is simply code language to appease their own bottom line.

Sydney Sweeney is about to upgrade someone's garage in a major way ... because a custom 2024 Ford Mustang GT she designed herself is part of a new giveaway.

The actress is once again teaming up with Ford, and this time they're holding a contest for one lucky fan to win her super sweet Mustang.

Sydney's custom designs are pretty awesome ... inspired by Sydney's Brittany Blue 1966 Mustang, this car features a Robin's Egg Blue exterior with a crushed glass clear coat and 20-inch chrome rims.

Under the hood, Sydney's signature is emblazoned on the engine.

Sydney and Ford's collab logo, a heart bolt emblem, is featured on the dashboard and exterior side panel ... and it's embossed on the leather seats.

SS is big on nighttime cruises ... so she added color-changing LED stars across the headliner. Pretty cool stuff.

The contest begins today and runs through Feb. 7 and Sydney and Ford say they're looking for someone who defies stereotypes with their pursuit of their passions.

Sydney's doing that some herself ... she's really big into cars and the mechanics behind them.

Participants can enter to win by sharing their stories on the Ford Instagram or TikTok channels.

And, get this ... Ford actually made two of these Mustangs ... meaning the contest winner and Sydney will have identical cars!!!

A McDonald's customer is McHatin' after her latest trip to the fast food joint ended with her finding a gag-worthy surprise in her McFlurry!

You'll be repulsed watching the clip yourself ... the woman discovers what appears to be a trash bag or glove left behind in her Oreo-flavored frozen treat -- horror plays out on her face as she continues pulling out the seemingly never-ending item.

Laughter seems to be the best medicine in the situation ... she chuckles awkwardly with her friend in the viral TikTok clip.

"We had no idea what she just found at the bottom of her mc flurry im losing my mind,"  the user @kekebobeke adds in the text overlay.

She claims the item was folded down and left behind on purpose, and she tagged McDonald's on the post, hoping to get some answers.

The fast food chain has yet to publicly respond, but current/former employees attempt to explain what the item is in the comments -- one says it's an ice cream liquid bag -- another says it's the sleeves the cups come in.

Una clienta de McDonald's está que revienta después de que en su última visita al restaurante de comida rápida se encontrara con una asquerosa sorpresa en su McFlurry.

La mujer descubre lo que parece ser una bolsa de basura o un guante olvidado en su helado de Oreo, ¡y el horror rápidamente aparece en su rostro mientras sigue sacando el aparentemente interminable artículo!

La risa parece ser la mejor medicina en este caso, pues ella se ríe torpemente con su amiga mientras todo sucede en el clip viral de TikTok.

"No teníamos ni idea de lo que acababa de encontrar en el fondo de su mc flurry, no me lo puedo creer", añade el usuario @kekebobeke en el texto.

La chica afirma que el artículo fue doblado hacia abajo y dejado atrás a propósito y etiquetó a McDonald's en el post con la esperanza de obtener algunas respuestas.

La cadena de comida rápida aún no ha respondido públicamente, pero los empleados actuales y antiguos están intentando explicar lo que es en los comentarios. Uno dice que es una bolsa de helado líquido y otro dice que es la manga donde vienen las tazas.

La hija de Kim Kardashian, North West, tiene nuevos diamantes en sus dientes, tal vez inspirada en el nuevo trabajo dental de su padre, y los está mostrando en TikTok.

La chica de 10 años compartió las selfies el miércoles en la cuenta conjunta que tiene con su mamá y que Kim subtituló con el comentario: "Las cosas que hace mi hija en mi teléfono, jaja".

North aparece separando sus labios para mostrar más de cerca su deslumbrante nueva joyería dental, apenas unas semanas después de que mostrara otra tanda de dientes parecidos en un video cerca de Navidad.

La foto fue acompañada junto a otras imágenes que muestran una pincelada de su vida con sus amigos y primos: una cena Hibachi, viajes a Disneyland y Universal Studios, su práctica de baloncesto, además de una selfie con Kim.

Los gustos de North no son tan diferentes de los de sus padres Kim y Kanye West. Una fuente le dice a TMZ que Ye también se realizó implantes permanentes en sus dientes por $850K con el Dr. Thomas Connelly, el dentista detrás de las transformaciones en las sonrisas de Post Malone, Lil Yachty y Odell Beckham.

Nos dicen que definitivamente NO se quitó todos los dientes para reemplazarlos con las dentaduras de titanio de $850K, como algunos informes han afirmado.

Kim también ha mostrado su propia colección de implantes dentales en las redes sociales a lo largo de los años, sobre todo como parte de su campaña de 2021 KKW Beauty.

Mientras tanto, la celebrity ha estado ocupada en TikTok, compartiendo con los fans un recorrido por su oficina SKKN, repleta de portadas de revistas en sus paredes y maniquíes.

Kim Kardashian's daughter North West has a new diamond grill -- perhaps inspired by Dad's new dental work -- and she's showing it off on TikTok.

The 10-year-old's blingin' selfie was uploaded Wednesday to her joint account, which she shares with her mom ... and Kim captioned the sparkling reveal with, "The things my daughter makes on my phone, haha."

North pulls her lips apart to give an up-close look at her dazzling new dental jewelry ... just weeks after she showed off another grill from a vid around Christmas time.

The snap was nestled among a montage of images offering a further glimpse of her life with her pals and cousins -- a Hibachi dinner, trips to Disneyland and Universal Studios and basketball practice ... plus, a Kim selfie thrown in for good measure.

The North apple isn't falling far from Kim and Kanye West's trees ... a source tells TMZ Ye is also rocking a cool new $850K permanent grill by Dr. Thomas Connelly, the dentist behind Post Malone, Lil Yachty and Odell Beckham's smile transformations.

We're told he definitely did NOT remove all his teeth to replace them with the $850K titanium dentures ... as some reports have claimed.

Kim's also shown off her own collection of grills on social media over the years -- most notably as part of her 2021 KKW Beauty campaign.

Meanwhile, Kim's also been busy on TikTok ... giving fans a tour of her SKKN office, complete with magazine covers adorning the wall and mannequins

Kim Kardashian is jumping on a popular social media video trend ... putting her spin on the "Of Course" videos with a tour of her office ... and of course the place is lavish.

Anyone scrolling TikTok, Twitter or Instagram recently has probably seen one of these "of course" videos ... and now Kim's raising the bar.

Kim's version is a tour of her SKKN office ... and she starts off by showing a long parade of her magazine covers adorning a wall.

Next, Kim heads into her glam room ... where of course she has a mannequin with custom measurements.

Kim then shows off her giant TV wall, where her beauty product campaigns are running on a loop. SKKN on repeat, baby.

Then the video gets really fun ... Kim's leaning over a desk with 3-D models of her brain and her plane. This one's a fan favorite, at least based on the comments.

Kim puts on some tanning bed goggles for her next bit ... showing off not one, but two beds ... the traditional tanning variety and a red light bed.

One more major flex follows ... Kim's entire office is custom Rick Owens!!!

Kim Kardashian se está sumando a la tendencia de los videos "Of Course" en redes sociales con un recorrido por su oficina y, claro está, el lugar es súper lujoso.

Cualquiera que se pasee por TikTok, Twitter o Instagram recientemente probablemente ha visto uno de estos videos "por supuesto" y ahora Kim es parte de la tendencia.

La empresaria y estrella hizo un recorrido por su oficina SKKN y comienza mostrando un largo desfile por sus portadas de revistas que adornan una pared.

Luego se dirige a su sala de glamour, donde por supuesto tiene un maniquí con medidas personalizadas.

A continuación muestra una pared gigante para ver televisión, donde se están pasando sus campañas de productos de belleza en un bucle. SKKN en repetición, nena.

Luego el video se pone muy divertido ... Kim se inclina sobre un escritorio con modelos en 3D de su cerebro y de su avión. Esta fue una de las partes favoritas de los fans, al menos basado en los comentarios.

Para su siguiente toma, Kim se pone unas gafas para broncearse en una cama y muestra no una, sino dos camas. La variedad de bronceado tradicional y una cama de luz roja.

Y sigue una exhibición más, ¡¡¡toda la oficina de Kim es personalizada por Rick Owens!!!

The "Lizzie McGuire" reboot definitely wasn't made for kids -- something we're learning about in much greater detail ... now that one of its writers is spilling the beans.

Jonathan Hurwitz -- who was working on the show for Disney at the time -- hit TikTok to explain what they were penning, and what pissed the Mouse House off in terms of plot points. Basically, he says they were writing about a 30-year-old woman doing grown-folk things ... which weren't always G-rated.

Check out his highlights of things they were having Lizzie do in their comeback season -- he says Hilary Duff would've been in the full swing of NYC living ... working as an interior designer while shacking up with her handsome chef BF -- who'd cheat on her with her BFF.

In their nixed script, they had it where Lizzie then moved in with her parents in Cali ... where she'd find herself back in contact with Gordo ... who's got some major bombshells for her -- he's engaged with a baby on the way!

According to Jon, Lizzie would've received a text from her old high school crush, Ethan ... later checking him off her "to-do" list after waking up in his bed -- something he says that particularly pissed off the family-friendly folks over at Disney. No sex, dammit!

Two episodes had already been filmed before Disney+ pulled the plug following creative differences between the streamer and Hilary ... which was pretty dramatic when it happened.

Hilary announced the decision on IG in Jan 2020 ... saying she wanted the reboot to be an authentic portrayal of who Lizzie would've been today -- anything else would've been a disservice to her. Sounds like Jon here is cosigning that ... noting, Disney wasn't down.

Of course, it's devastating that adult Lizzie never got the reboot she deserved ... but nothing's more upsetting, perhaps, than learning Gordo never got with her himself after all those years.

Ron Browz's name is etched in rap history for producing Nas' brutal Jay-Z diss track "Ether," and more than 20 years later he's still collecting residuals ... at least, on some social platforms, but he says others are robbing him blind!!!

TMZ Hip Hop sat down with "Etherboy" this week after his beat was used TWICE to highlight 2 of the biggest moments of the week on the internet ... both of which involved lots of "Ether" level disrespect.

The first was Katt Williams' "Club Shay Shay" interview where he mentioned virtually every comedian in his lane -- and the second came with Stephen A. Smith's hour-long flogging of Jason Whitlock.

The internet -- undefeated, as it is -- seized the moment and put the Ron-produced track over Katt and Stephen's highlights. That's not great for Ron, because he says if those posts aren't on TikTok or YouTube, which track music, then he's ass out ... and has no clue how much money he's missing.

He says the powers that be at other social platforms have yet to creat their royalty road map.

BTW, there's an interesting backstory on the making of the track -- Ron says the aggressive DNA of the song came from him desperately looking for a way out of his Harlem hood, and had the coin flipped on the other side, the instrumental could've belonged to Jay!!!

Ron says he passed the beat, and several others, to Jay's A&R at the time, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua, but it never fell into Hov's lap.

"Ether" is not the only instrumental RB produced that morphed into a problematic track ... Busta Rhymes' 2008 hit "Arab Money" can easily be misconstrued for bigotry, especially in the current social media landscape.

Ron says he was simply inspired by the Arabic music playing inside NYC bodegas and added his 1uto-tuned twist to the hook.

However, it includes a recanting of the Islamic Shahada -- a profession of faith -- and that almost got Busta in hot water, and Ron too when he got booked for a Dubai gig ... but he swears the track is all positive.

Despite both beats taking a life of their own, Ron tells us his fav track he did was actually "Pop Champagne" with Jim Jones and Juelz Santana.

Lynn Yamada Davis -- an elderly social media influencer chef with a massive following -- has passed away ... her family has confirmed.

The "Cooking With Lynja" star passed away on January 1 at Riverview Medical Center, New Jersey, from esophageal cancer ... something her daughter, Hannah Mariko Shofet, told The New York Times.

The publication adds that Lynn had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019 and later with esophageal cancer in 2021. Now, she's succumbed to her cancer battle after nearly 5 years.

Like we mentioned ... Lynn was widely beloved on the social media app, amassing about 17 million followers ... all thanks to her hilarious and wholesome cooking videos. People simply loved her content, whether it was for the good eats, or her very sweet/funny personality.

Lynn's achievement also earned her a coveted place on Forbes' 50 over 50 list in 2022. She started the channel during the pandemic in 2020 with her youngest son, Tim Davis, telling NYT it was entirely his mother's idea.

LYD got to travel the world and meet new people since her social media success, says her other son, Sean Davis ... adding his mom's final chapter was "exactly how she would have wanted it to be written."

Her TikTok account has been kept active by her family since her passing ... and her family confirmed she asked for the rest of her pre-recorded videos to be edited and live.

Heartbroken fans have flooded Lynn's social media page with their tributes ... thanking her for giving them joy through her cooking. She was 67.

RIP

Superemos a "la rata come pizza", hay un nuevo video de roedores de Nueva York corriendo por las calles y esta vez tiene que ver con un indigente.

Échale un vistazo a este video de una estación de metro en la Gran Manzana que se publicó esta semana... se puede ver a un indigente durmiendo bajo una manta mientras decenas de ratas se escabullen debajo de las sábanas.

Comienza con unas pocas ratas huyendo cuando los pasajeros del metro se acercan, luego sigue una estampida masiva que se dirige hacia las vías del tren. No se sabe si fueron atropelladas por un tren como ese tipo la semana pasada en Filadelfia.

El número de ratas que parecen dormir con este vagabundo -acurrucadas bajo la manta, nada menos- es impactante. Estamos hablando de al menos una docena de estos monstruos ratoniles, si no más.

Parece que el nuevo "Paraíso de las Ratas" es Nueva York, y Kathleen Corradi tiene mucho trabajo por delante.

Hemos visto ratas arrastrando trozos de pizza, luchando por la pizza y atacando a las palomas en los últimos años en la ciudad de Nueva York. Este video es solo uno más de cientos que circulan por las redes.

Una última cosa, el video no muestra al indigente debajo de la manta, dejando a algunas personas con la interrogante de si todo esto fue una puesta en escena. Todo se desarrolla con demasiada perfección, y como hemos dicho, hay mucho que no se ve en el viral.