TMZ Live

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.

Mike Posner says the emotional pain he's dealing with now is all part of life's plan to teach him lessons in order to learn and grow and then pass his knowledge along to others.

The singer joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" and we asked him how things are going after he recently got brutally honest with one of our photogs ... saying he was embarking on a spiritual warpath to deal with some life challenges.

Mike says he's doing better now and his latest challenge helped him change and grow for the better ... just like a lot of the hurdles he's faced in life and in his career.

He tells us he's grateful for his life in general and all the highs he's experienced -- like Grammy nominations -- and, with that, he's also grateful for all the pain as well.

In Mike's case, there is another silver lining with life's hardships -- they can make for great music, as he points out ... art is a great outlet for sadness, depression, rage, anger and fear.

For Mike, life's teaching him what he needs to learn in order for him to teach others ... and he's got an opportunity coming up to do just that ... with a curated trip to Iceland.

Dr. Terry Dubrow gets emotional thinking about how his wife, Heather, sounded the alarm when he suffered subtle, stroke-like symptoms, and were it not for an argument and her persistence, Terry might not be here today.

The "Botched" star was on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to give us the blow-by-blow on what went down last Thursday at L.A.'s famed restaurant, The Ivy. Terry says he briefly started to slur his speech, which deeply concerned his spouse.

As Terry explains, Heather insisted on calling 911, which infuriated Terry -- he didn't think it was a big deal. An ambulance came, checked him out and said he was ok, but that wasn't good enough for Heather ... she insisted he get checked out at a hospital.

He made a rash decision to head home alone, but Heather didn't stop pestering him, and even got their circle of doctor friends to hound Terry and convince him to get to a hospital.

As we reported ... Terry was diagnosed with having suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA) which can be a precursor to a full-blown stroke.

Not just that, but doctors found a patent foramen ovale (PFO) -- a heart condition which can be incredibly dangerous. So, long story short, it was well worth his while to seek immediate medical treatment.

This is not lost on Terry whatsoever ... in fact, he's incredibly grateful to Heather -- and says she quite literally saved his life that night, despite his protests and insistence he was fine.

He's giving her major props in this interview, and it sounds like she deserves all the credit in the world. Terry also tells us the lesson he learned -- it's pretty fascinating.

The heir to the Anheuser-Busch fortune is appalled the company that bought his family out used a transgender person to advertise Bud Light ... saying, "My ancestors would have rolled over in their graves."

Billy Busch (not the host of "Extra") appeared on "TMZ Live" Friday to discuss his new book, "Family Reins: The Extraordinary Rise and Epic Fall of an American Dynasty," when Harvey asked him about the Bud Light ad featuring Dylan Mulvaney -- a move which triggered a massive boycott.

Busch believes the company that succeeded his family should never have put a transgender person on a Bud Light can, arguing beer drinkers "want their beer to be truly American," adding, "I just don't think the audience that drinks beer is into transgenders."

He went on, saying, "People who drink beer care about wholesome things."

Busch argued being a transgender person is a sexual preference, and Harvey shot back, "It's a matter of identity, not sexual preference."

That triggered a whole argument about prejudice, but Busch was adamant -- he feels the successors to Anheuser-Busch screwed up royally.

Lizzo makes it clear her backup dancers will face repercussions if they don't do what she asks, even if that means getting freaky at a live sex show ... at least, that's what 2 of the women suing her are claiming.

The singer's former backup dancers, Arianna Davis, and Crystal Williams, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and told us about their experiences working under Lizzo.

Arianna and Crystal accused Lizzo of coercing backup dancers to participate in nude cabaret shows ... and they say there's an unspoken feeling among the group of having to bend to Lizzo's demands or be fired if they don't play ball.

As they allege in the lawsuit, sometimes that means eating bananas out of sex performers' vaginas in Amsterdam -- and they told us dancers who went along with Lizzo's idea of fun were rewarded with lavish private jet trips to tropical locations.

On the flip side, they claim dancers who didn't feel comfortable doing everything Lizzo wanted would be threatened with termination.

As for why they're no longer working with Lizzo -- Crystal says she was accused of drinking before performances, and Arianna claims Lizzo body-shamed her for gaining weight ... and she claims Lizzo used an admission of an eating disorder to justify firing her.

Lizzo has yet to comment publicly, or respond to the lawsuit in court ... but her accusers have a lot to say here.

Stephen Amell is explaining why he supports his union, SAG-AFTRA, but doesn't support leadership's decision to strike ... he believes that's not the only way to hammer out a good deal.

The "Arrow" star joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and shared his thought process behind opposing the strikes in Hollywood, and admitted he's walking a fine line between supporting his union and wanting to work.

Stephen says SAG-AFTRA absolutely should fight for a better contract for its members ... but instead of marching in picket lines outside studios, he recommends getting back to the table to negotiate with the studios.

While Stephen's been one of the only actors to speak out against the strike, he tells us dozens of his colleagues are privately reaching out to him ... and he says his fellow actors agree with his strike outlook, even if the outside noise is against him.

Stephen's also caught the attention of SAG leadership ... and he said he's meeting with them later on Tuesday. He told us his goal for the meeting is to show union leaders he supports them while also offering up alternatives to striking.

Hollywood actors are stuck between a rock and a hard place amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike -- best exemplified by one particular thespian, who's now doing odd jobs to keep afloat.

Josh Hooks, who's been on shows like "Will Trent," "Swagger" and "The Game," among others ... joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" to explain how he -- like tens of thousands of other actors and writers -- is maintaining job/money-wise during the labor stalemate.

One gig Josh has picked up is cleaning houses, plus several other odd jobs -- as he explains, it's a great time to be a jack of all trades. Sounds like Craigslist is his best friend these days.

There are methods JH and his fellow striking actors are implementing to get by during this hard time -- including leaning on each other for support, which he says entails cooking and sharing grub, or referring somebody to a new gig if there's work on the table to go around.

He also reflects on how frustrating his journey in showbiz has been in these recent years. First, his momentum from 2019 got derailed because of COVID ... which halted a lot of productions for a good long while. Now that he's got some mojo again ... it's the strike.

Despite this ... Josh fully backs his union in hitting the picket lines, adding that he's happy to serve as a voice for countless people who are fighting for better working conditions.

He's hoping these differences can be resolved sooner than later, but in the meantime -- he's clearly making do however he can ... just like so many others are as well.

Tough times.

Lots of actors who are on strike are getting work ... courtesy of Beverly Hills plastic surgeons!

Business is booming ... so says Dr. Ben Talei of the Beverly Hills Center for Plastic Surgery. He told Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" he's working 7 days a week, because actors are using the downtime to go under the knife and recover without being noticed or missing work.

Dr. Talei says it's the A and B-listers who are swarming his office ... mostly because they can afford it. He's been doing work on some of his favorite sports stars and actors, and there's an interesting story about a famous Scientologist who went under his knife.

And here's the most fascinating part ... he says some actors made contingency plans -- if it seemed the strike wouldn't last long, they'd get minor, filler work, but if it was prolonged, they get the full monty.

Rep. Tim Burchett says he's determined to get to the bottom of several disturbing UFO allegations ... and that means digging deeper into the bombshell claims that just came out in Congress.

The U.S. Congressman from Tennessee joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live," and we asked how he and other lawmakers intend to follow up on former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch's suggestion murders were committed as part of a government conspiracy to hide evidence of extraterrestrials ... including recovered spacecraft and non-human lifeforms piloting them.

Rep. Burchett says he's hoping to get into a super secret room with Grusch to get specific details on who was allegedly killed as part of a UFO conspiracy ... and to get more info about what kind of alien craft our government might have in its possession.

Remember ... Wednesday's historic Congressional hearings on UFOs included some bombshell testimony from Grusch, and Burchett explains the meaning behind a term that kept coming up -- "SCIF," short for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility -- and why it's so important here.

Rep. Burchett is among the lawmakers most determined to share information on UFOs, and possibly alien life -- and he says some of his colleagues have actually seen UFOs, but were scared to come forward.

President Biden's dog Commander doesn't have to be a recidivist biter ... a former Secret Service agent -- who's trained other White House pups -- says the pup can be trained to stop sinking his teeth into people.

Marshall Mirarchi was in the Secret Service's K-9 division during the Obama administration -- when Biden was VP -- and he joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to explain why Commander's bitten 7 people over a 4-month span, and to tell us what the hell can be done about it.

Marshall says Commander absolutely can have the urge to bite trained out of him ... offering up his own dog, Hurricane, as a living, breathing example of a dog that can go from harmless to menace on command.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre brushed off Commander's biting problem Tuesday as a casualty of the stressful conditions at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

That's not just spin, according to Marshall -- he confirmed there are plenty of stressors for a White House dog, but he also believes the Secret Service can get the German shepherd to stop attacking folks.

Of course, Marshall says it's going to take a lot of training and patience to see a change in Commander ... but he's confident it can be done, and that the Secret Service has the right agents for the job.

For what it's worth, Marshall trained dogs for Barack Obama and G.W. Bush, and there were no known biting incidents with them. He says that's partly due to differences in breeds, but the guy clearly knows his stuff.

Britney Spears is brimming with creative ideas on the music front, according to will.i.am -- with whom she just collab'd for her latest track -- and he says there's good reason to expect more music from her.

The Black Eyed Peas frontman's joining us "TMZ Live" on the heels of his and Britney's new single, 'Mind Your Business,' which just dropped Friday. It's the second song Britney's been featured on since her conservatorship ended.

The track came as a surprise to many -- Will acknowledges they actually recorded most of the song back in 2013, but says this was the perfect time to finish production and release it.

That's because of the song's message -- on the surface, it's all about Britney's storied history with paparazzi, and her general feeling of losing all privacy ... but Will adds, it's not just about her.

It's interesting ... he says everyone's personal life is invaded these days, which makes this an issue that transcends celebrity.

As far as any future projects together -- this is already their 4th collab -- Will says it's a bit TBD ... but he does tell us Britney is still very much invested in music -- proven, he says, by the suggestions she was making while they were working on "Mind Your Business."

Snoop Dogg's got some great mentors in Master P and Martha Stewart, and he's crediting both with inspiring his new venture -- Dr. Bombay ice cream brand with hybrid flavors bound to tempt tongues.

Snoop tells us his entrée into frozen desserts spun off from his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT avatar -- Dr. Bombay -- and definitely a strong case of the munchies, based on the big puff of smoke he was blowing during his "TMZ Live" interview!!!

The Doggfather says all the Dr. Bombay flavors are fusions of his favorite sweet bites -- "Syrupy Waffle Sundae Daze," "S'more Vibes" and "Rollin' In The Dough" are just a few of the whimsical concoctions he had a direct hand in creating.

Snoop's super heavy in the food world these days ... he recently announced a cookbook collab with E-40 that'll be on dinner tables by Thanksgiving.

Throughout the years, Snoop says he's learned a great deal from his pals Martha and P -- literally 2 of America's biggest entrepreneurial minds.

Snoop compares P's knowledge to a college education, while Martha was like that real-world experience ya get after graduation ... to put in Doggy Dogg metaphor terms.

BTW, we recently got P promoting his cereal venture with Snoop ... which is still going strong.

As for those Dr. Bombay ice cream flavors -- you'll find them chillin' in Walmart coolers now! The launch is being supported by cultural marketing agency 160over90, a part of the Endeavor network.

Wildlife biologist Forrest Galante is literally diving into the unknown to explore bizarre and rare sharks -- and while the potential danger is high, he says the never-before-seen footage they captured makes it all worth it for him.

That video will be front and center next week for Discovery's "Shark Week," and Forrest joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to give us a peek at what he found off the coast of South Africa ... including some frisky, and violent mating habits.

Forrest's special is called, "Alien Sharks: Strange New Worlds" ... and he says it shines a light on sharks that don't get the publicity of great whites, hammerheads and tiger sharks.

While he swears most of the sharks in our vast, mostly unexplored oceans are harmless, he admits humans truly don't know what all is down there -- which, frankly, sounds pretty scary.

There's a happy ending here though -- Forrest and the Discovery crew came back to the surface with some historic footage ... pyjama sharks having sex on camera!!!

Daymond John says Kim Kardashian's name and celebrity is not the reason her popular clothing line Skims is now being valued at $4 billion ... he says product quality is the key.

The "Shark Tank" biz mogul joined us Friday on "TMZ Live," and dove into the numbers behind the new Skims valuation -- nearly $1B higher than last year's valuation!

Daymond says Kim's name being attached to the clothing line certainly helps, but based on what he's seeing and hearing, the value lies more in the affordable pricing and quality being delivered to consumers ... who might not even care about the Kardashians.

In other words, people aren't buying $750 million worth of Skims annually just because Kim is the face of the brand, though her advertising prowess and fame still bring a lot to the table.

Daymond's got answers for folks wondering why Kim's company is skyrocketing ... he breaks down the math, and sees a MUCH bigger number than $4 bil on the horizon.

Ben McKenzie says celebrities should not be selling digital currencies ... instead, he says they should stick to the usual stuff, like overpriced water, so folks won't go belly up.

The former "O.C." star joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked him about the huge ad blitz from celebs who were pushing crypto during the Super Bowl and beyond ... only for the market to crash.

Ben's since written a book about the rise and fall of crypto, "Easy Money," and he's got some strong opinions ... like how celebrities should never be giving financial advice.

Ben thinks all the folks featured in those Super Bowl ads for crypto ... like Tom Brady, Lindsay Lohan, and Larry David, just to name a few ... would be better served selling car insurance, soap and H2O.

For Ben, the big difference here is the unregulated status of cryptocurrency ... plus the fact celebs are not licensed financial advisors ... and he feels Hollywood contributed to what he sees as the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Tons of folks lost money when the crypto boom went bust and lots of folks got sued ... and Ben says fraudsters used the lure of celebrities to reel in marks.

A former detective who worked on The Notorious B.I.G. murder case -- which overlapped with Tupac's murder -- says Vegas PD might finally be able to close the infamous case ... especially in light of whose home they raided.

Greg Kading gained extensive knowledge of both Pac and B.I.G.'s murders while he was with LAPD, and joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to offer insight into the Henderson, NV raid. We broke the story ... Vegas cops searched the home of Paula Clemons Monday night, and they say it was in connection with the still-open Tupac murder case.

Paula's husband is a guy named Keefe D, and Kading says Keefe has spoken openly about his involvement with Tupac's murder for years now -- alleging his nephew and fellow Crip Orlando Anderson was the trigger man that fateful night in 1996.

Kading says Keefe first confessed to this way back in 2009, during a police interview conducted by Kading. He says they struck a deal with Keefe, so they couldn't use the info he provided to prosecute him -- but he says that deal went out the window the moment Keefe started telling his story in public.

Kading suspects Keefe still thinks he's safe from prosecution, but the fact cops now appear to be zeroing in on him -- or at least, his loved ones -- will probably make him realize he's mistaken.

As for why Vegas cops are jumping on this now -- Kading tells us they might have been working on this in recent years, and only now have all the pieces lined up to prosecute someone.