Twitter

Diddy played a secret role in Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter ... we've learned he was among the investors who helped Elon buy the bird app.

Sources close to Diddy tell TMZ ... the music and fashion mogul invested north of $10 million for the social media service.

Remember ... Elon bought Twitter last month for $44 billion ... with the help of wealthy investors and loans from Wall Street banks. Some of those investors reportedly include Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

As for Diddy's 8-figure investment, we're told his strategy always revolves around having a seat at the table to represent.

Our sources say Diddy and the rest of Elon's Twitter investors believe in Elon's vision for the bird app. As for what that vision is ... our sources are mum.

Diddy and Elon have been rubbing elbows a lot this year ... they both sat in the front row of Dave Chappelle's show back in May at the Hollywood Bowl ... the show where an attacker ran on stage and assaulted Dave.

Diddy and Elon were among the celebs hanging out at Kanye West's Donda 2 experience back in February, along with French Montana and Rick Ross.

And in other Diddy business news -- according to The WSJ -- he's supposed to buy cannabis operations in NY and two other states for up to $185 million ... a move that we're told will create the largest black owned company in the world.

Elon Musk is sharpening his knives at Twitter...'cause he's planning to wipe out half the workforce to put the company on the right path, or so he claims ... but employees have fired back with a preemptive lawsuit.

The new Chief Twit, as Musk anointed himself after his $44 billion purchase of the social media giant, fired off a chilling memo to his 7,500 employees Thursday.

The email -- which was only signed "Twitter" -- informed workers to stay away from all offices Friday as Musk begins to clean house, the New York Times reported. An exact head count was not provided in the email, but the NYT says half the staff is set to be fired.

The email leaves no doubt ... "In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce. We recognize that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward."

Twitter staffers read the tea leaves and filed a class action lawsuit late Thursday, asking a judge to declare any firings now would be in violation of California and federal law, in part because there was insufficient notice.

After receiving the ominous note, employees took to Slack -- the company's internal messaging service -- posting heart and salute emojis. Some workers were cut off from the internal computer system -- a sign their heads were on the chopping block.

Musk has already gone on a mini-firing spree after inking the deal to buy San Francisco-based company Oct. 27. As we reported, the world's richest man promptly gave walking papers to several top Twitter executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal. Since then, Musk has reportedly chosen 50 engineers from his other businesses to pore over layoff lists of Twitter employees.

All sounds pretty ugly. Good luck.

Elon Musk got into a big 'ol Twitter fight with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, trading jabs over the billionaire's intent to charge verified users a fee to maintain their status on the social media platform.

Musk -- Twitter's new owner -- announced this week he would implement a policy charging an $8 monthly fee for users to keep their blue check badges to prove their accounts are authentic. He originally set the price at $20, but then lowered it. It's unclear when he plans to make the $8 fee official.

This didn't sit well with many critics and AOC, who sent out a flurry of Tweets Tuesday/Wednesday, giving Musk a piece of her mind.

"Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that 'free speech' is actually a $8/mo subscription plan," the New York congresswoman tweeted.

AOC followed up with another zinger ... "One guy's business plan for a $44 billion over-leveraged purchase is apparently to run around and individually ask people for $8. Remember that next time you question yourself or your qualifications."

She even complained that her Twitter notifications weren't working properly.

Musk then got into it with her. The Tesla/SpaceX boss tweeted a photo of an AOC sweatshirt selling on her website for $58, seemingly defending his $8 subscription fee by showing she, too, is trying to monetize her business.

But, the Democratic lawmaker wasn't having it, tweeting ... "My workers are union, make a living wage, have full healthcare, and aren’t subject to racist treatment in their workplaces. Items are made in USA."

Musk fired back ... "Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8." AOC landed the last punch, though, declaring she had "gotten under a certain billionaire's skin" next to a laughing emoji.

Gucci Mane and his newly signed artist Baby Racks have parted ways ... which wouldn't be all that shocking -- if the rookie rapper wasn't under contract for only 24 hours.

La Flare laid down the stern A&R hand Wednesday, making the grand announcement to his 9.4 million Twitter followers he had dropped Baby Racks from his 1017 Records imprint.

Unlike what Baby Racks' IG account suggests, Atlantic Records also tells TMZ Hip Hop ... the rapper isn't signed to their label either.

Gucci previously introduced Baby Racks in October and the 2 went straight to work ... releasing their collab "Look Ma I Did It,” which is produced by HonchoDenaro7.

The song got Baby Racks hot on Spotify with over 1 million monthly listeners, and he wasted no time turning his IG into a Gucci Mane shrine ... even adding 1017 to his handle, which will probably need adjusting now.

Heidi Klum's annual party brought out all the big celebs, but none were more in the spotlight than Elon Musk ... who had everyone seeing red.

The new Twitter chief showed up Monday night to the Moxy Hotel in NYC, where Klum was hosting her 21st annual gala of getups. He was dressed as some sort of warrior with pretty intricate crimson armor.

His mom was there too ... Maye Musk showed up at one point near Elon, dressed in goth-themed garb. A lot of eyes were on them, without a doubt -- the Twitter buy-out is top of mind these days, and EM's stunts have thrust him to the front of many conversations.

Anyway, the rest of the costumes were pretty sweet too ... including the one worn by the host. She was transformed from head to toe (and even beyond) as a fishing hook worm, with incredible attention to detail ... right down to the ribbing along the body.

Her husband, Tom Kaulitz, was dressed as a fisherman ... and Heidi was his oversized bait. At one point, though, she lost the worm suit and showed off her figure underneath.

Other stars who showed up dressed to impress -- Ice-T and Coco, Heather Graham, Julia Fox, Chloe Kim, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Kim Petras, Questlove and more.

The costumes were certainly impressive ... and cap off a packed weekend that was full of famous monsters and ghouls who did back-to-back-to-back nights in parties -- with Heidi's obviously being the last stop.

Twitter is now on a rollercoaster ride, courtesy of its new owner Elon Musk ... and technology columnist Kevin Roose says the ride could lead to a whole new app within a matter of days.

Kevin joined "TMZ Live" to forecast the bird app's future on the heels of a wild weekend brought on by Musk himself -- his retweeting an unsubstantiated Paul Pelosi conspiracy theory is raising major concerns about how much misinformation he's going to allow.

Political consequences aside, Roose says there could be a lot of financial fallout from Elon's early moves.

He believes Elon's Pelosi tweet signals there will be a constant tug-of-war between Twitter being a free speech forum ... and one that regulates misinformation and hate speech -- and that battle will impact advertising revenue.

Kevin notes ... advertisers generally don't love placement next to toxic content, and after dropping $44 billion for the platform, Elon needs it thrive as a biz.

As for Twitter's employees ... Kevin says big-time layoffs are expected this week, and Elon's already booted all of Twitter's previous executives and board members.

Elon Musk used his new social media platform to perpetuate an unfounded conspiracy theory about the Paul Pelosi attack -- and he did it in response to Hillary Clinton, no less.

The Twitter chief replied to a tweet HC sent Saturday that condemned the attack on the Speaker's husband, while also calling out the extreme rhetoric of some Republicans and pundits ... which she believes is largely responsible for the incident.

Elon chimed in Sunday, saying there may be more to the story than meets the eye ... adding a link to a fringe site that uploaded a salacious article/headline regarding Pelosi and his attacker. It's based on a conspiracy theory that's caught fire in conservative circles.

The theory -- and the unsubstantiated article -- claims Paul's attacker was no stranger ... but rather, that they had a prior relationship and that things went south during a meetup. Again, there's been no evidence to support this claim whatsoever ... and yet, Elon leaned into it.

He has since deleted the incendiary tweet ... but the damage is done, because he's getting slammed left and right for putting out wild rumors -- this as the literal executive of Twitter.

One of the people who are tearing him to shreds over this is Jimmy Kimmel ... who wrote, "it has been interesting, over the years, to watch you blossom from the electric car guy into a fully-formed piece of s*** @elonmusk."

It's worth noting, for the record, that SFPD has characterized this as nothing more than a break-in/assault on Pelosi -- and they even say they witnessed the attacker, David DePape, strike Paul on the head with a hammer before they tackled and arrested him.

As we reported ... Paul made a secret call to 911 while facing off with DePape and spoke in code to the operator to not agitate the guy, while also relaying he was in danger. DePape allegedly asked "Where's Nancy?" several times ... but she wasn't home at the time.

A new report Sunday claims that DePape was also equipped with a bag of zip ties -- so who knows what more could've happened if Paul hadn't alerted the authorities when he did.

Speaker Pelosi, for her part, says her husband is recovering after undergoing surgery ... while also noting she and the rest of their family are traumatized. Reports have surfaced since saying DePape has shared far-right, bigoted conspiracies on his blog ... right up to the attack.

Elon Musk is about to throw down the guillotine at Twitter -- with layoffs expected to be announced soon ... this ahead of a crucial date when employees are due to cash in.

The NYT reports that EM may start getting rid of people as early as Saturday, with some departments due to get slimmed down more than others ... although it's unclear which ones are on the chopping block. It's also unclear how many workers, exactly, he's cutting loose.

What is reportedly happening, however, is Musk tasking managers with creating lists of subordinates they could do without -- and he apparently wants 'em gone before Tuesday.

The reason for that is interesting ... the Times says on Nov. 1, Twitter employees are apparently due to receive stock grants as part of their compensation packages. No word on what those stocks look like or how often they're dished out, but it seems Elon wants to avoid handing out any more than he needs to by trimming the fat before the deadline.

Remember, there were reports this month that Elon was aiming to reduce the Twitter workforce by as much as 75% ... but there's been conflicting accounts since, suggesting he was reconsidering. Twitter has about 7,500 full-time employees that span the globe.

While this is pretty serious news for the staff ... Elon's carrying on like usual, with a lot of deadpan humor. He tweeted Saturday that free speech was back now that people could say carbs are actually good. EM also said comedy is now legal on Twitter again -- and he even poked fun at the Twitter firing hoax last week that took some media outlets for a ride.

He clearly saw the joke in the names ascribed to the fake Twitter employees who pretended to be canned en masse. Now, though, it looks like some real job loss is on the horizon.

Watch out, Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush ... Troy Aikman showed he's still got magic left in his right arm -- knockin' down 12 beer cans with two, pinpoint 20-yard throws!!

The Dallas Cowboys legend hit a field in Texas to complete the feat -- and while he tells TMZ Sports the footage might not be "100 percent" real ... he did say the accuracy he showcased in the vid is legit!!

"That was my strength, you know?" the 55-year-old said with a laugh.

Troy performed the stunt in hopes of igniting a viral craze -- where people think of creative ways to knock down pyramids of EIGHT Beer cans -- that will benefit a great cause.

Aikman dubbed it the "#EIGHTBeerChallenge" -- and he said for every one person who participates in it, films it, and shares it to social media, he and his beer co. will donate $8 to Back On My Feet, an org. created to combat homelessness.

"It gives a chance for some of the homeless people in the community to be empowered," Aikman said, "and to get them back on their feet, being an active participant in society, doing a lot of different things."

Aikman said he's planning on showcasing some of the best vids of the challenge on his social media pages over the coming weeks.

No, Rahul Ligma is NOT among the Twitter employees axed by the bird app's new owner, Elon Musk ... some media outlets were simply duped by 2 men posing as laid off employees.

Two men carrying cardboard boxes appeared Friday outside Twitter HQ in San Francisco, claiming Papa Elon had just laid them off ... and despite some red flags, reporters were quick to run with what they thought was a big story related to Elon's big purchase.

One of the pranksters told reporters, including CNBC's Deidre Bosa, his name was "Rahul Ligma," which most folks versed in Twitter replies would know is a reference to an internet meme.

For the uninitiated -- we're looking at you, Deirde -- Ligma sets up a joke for "Ligma Balls." Lick. My. Balls. In addition to CNBC, Bloomberg ran headlines Friday saying laid off Twitter employees were leaving corporate with boxes in hand.

Another hoax victim was local TV news reporter Suzanne Phan of ABC7 Bay Area, who tweeted video of the media scrum with Mr. Ligma ... who told falsely told reporters he was fired during a Zoom meeting and didn't know where he would work next.

The pranksters littered their interviews with strange pop culture references ... "Ligma" was holding Michelle Obama's book as he exclaimed, "Michelle Obama wouldn’t have happened if Elon Musk owned Twitter."

Britney Spears was also name-dropped ... the pranksters claimed they were worried about the future of democracy and "celebrity conservatorship" with Elon owning Twitter. They also told reporters they drove Tesla cars and didn't know if they would be able to make any more payments.

There was tons of speculation about layoffs as Elon closed the deal ... but in reality, the only Twitter employees being axed, at least so far, are some execs who are going to make a killing off their departures.

Elon Musk officially took the reigns at Twitter on Thursday … as he closed his $44 billion deal for the social media giant, but then he quickly started to clean house.

In his first order of business as the company’s new CEO, Musk reportedly went on a firing spree, picking off at least 4 senior executives.

Among those canned were now former Twitter head Parag Agrawal, Policy executive Vijaya Gadde, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and top Legal and general counsel Sean Edgett. Security guards ushered one or more of the execs out of Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, the New York Times reported.

The Tesla/Space X boss gave no formal reason for their removal... but it was no secret there was tension between Musk and the Twitter chiefs during months of legal wrangling that nearly derailed the sale of the company.

After inking the megawatt deal, Musk triumphantly tweeted late Thursday night, “the bird is free” seemingly a reference to him making Twitter an inclusive place for all voices and opinions. Twitter has received a rash of criticism for kicking conservatives -- including 45th President Donald Trump -- off its platform for allegedly disseminating misinformation and hate speech.

Musk, a self-described "free speech absolutist, has promised to reverse Trump's "permanent ban" from the service. He also plans to foster his new open vision for the so-called "digital town square," which some critics say will only exacerbate the spread of fake news and poisonous content.

But, Musk hit back at his critics, explaining ... "In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost."

Elon Musk is officially Twitter's new daddy -- at least according to Elon Musk -- who says he hopes the platform will continue to be a digital town square for years to come.

The Tesla/SpaceX boss explained his reasons for the $44 billion purchase Thursday, saying, "There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide in our society."

He continues, "In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost."

He says, "That is why I bought Twitter. I didn't do it because it would be easy. I didn't do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility."

Elon's Twitter bio reflects his new purchase as well, calling himself the "Chief Twit." There's also a video that circulated this week showing the guy roaming about headquarters with moving boxes.

Like we said ... it closes the book on what turned out to be a bitter acquisition -- one that almost didn't happen when Elon threatened to pull out at the last minute. Remember, he said he felt Twitter wasn't giving him enough info on bots and spam accounts ... and that the value of the company might not have been as high as he was willing to pay at first.

In his mind, it gave him every legal reason to walk away -- but Twitter wasn't budging without a fight. The old regime took him to court and was dead set on holding him to the original terms, and as a trial loomed ... Elon blinked first and agreed to go through with it.

There's been a lot of talk about what Elon might aim to change at Twitter now that he's in charge. You'll recall, this all started with his gripes about free speech being severely limited on the platform -- and all signs point to him loosening the rules a bit as far as what's acceptable to tweet ... much to the chagrin of many critics, including current employees.

Speaking of those folks, there've been recent reports claiming that Elon plans to gut at least 75% of Twitter's workforce -- while also bashing a lot of them as left-leaning. There've been protests to push back on this, but at this point ... it's Elon's show, and he calls the shots.

Madonna apparently wanted credit for "paving the way" for a ton of modern-day artists to embrace their sexuality -- but the way she said left a very bad taste in Cardi B's mouth.

Madge pissed off Cardi this weekend with a passive-aggressive note she posted on her IG Stories -- one in which she celebrates the 30-year anniversary of her infamous "S.E.X." book, but in the same breath ... seems to take some shots at a select few ladies by name.

She describes the boundaries she pushed back then and how influential her book turned out to be in pop culture despite the backlash she endured, going on to say ... "Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP, Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball," adding, "You're welcome bitches 🤡"

That last part is what's pissing off CB -- 'cause she's on Twitter right now absolutely s****ing on Madonna for it. In one tweet, she says ... "These icons really become disappointments once u make it in the industry that’s why I keep to myself."

There are other tweets where Cardi expresses her anger over the fact Madonna felt the need to both ask for a pat on the back while also hurling what Cardi perceives as an insult.

It seems Cardi's catching a little bit of heat for being so vocal about her criticism of Madonna ... with some folks telling her to chillax -- but she's doing the exact opposite, digging her heels in and insisting on defending herself against anyone ... icon status or not.

For Cardi, it comes down to tone and she simply feels Madonna could've made her point without being rude. And as most people know, CB's not afraid to square up (digitally) against anyone these days. She's in constant feuds on Twitter, and now Madonna's on the list too.

Madonna versus Cardi B ... what a world!

Beyoncé fans are mad at Kelis for not getting as upset at 2 women playing with her hair as when she flipped her lid over Bey allegedly using her music without permission.

The latest Twitter fracas is underway now ... the Beyhive is seriously voicing their displeasure over a video the "Milkshake" singer posted that shows her having her braids felt up by a couple ladies in Singapore, where Kelis is apparently visiting at the moment.

The clip shows Kelis seated at an outdoor table with a friend, who's filming, when these two gals start to caress and feel on her braids ... without notice or permission.

Kelis is taken aback but rolls with it, playing with their hair in return, and kinda letting them have their way -- they seem pretty fascinated with her 'do. While she looks confused, it doesn't seem Kelis is all that fired up about the awkward encounter ... more so amused.

That's where Beyoncé stans are jumping in ... chiding her for not showing the same amount of gusto for these women as she did for Bey's sample in "Energy" from her new album ... which used a part of Kelis's hit song, supposedly without being properly cleared.

You'll recall, Kelis was very public with her resentment over that. She called it disrespectful/ignorant ... and suggested Bey was somebody in the biz who had no soul or integrity. It was harsh, but it worked -- because Beyoncé yanked the sample and reworked the song in the end ... just one of many problems she had with the roll-out at the time.

Now, in light of this latest Kelis news ... some are saying Kelis is "all bark, no bite" -- among other mean comments -- suggesting this is objectively more objectionable, and that she picks and chooses when to get angry ... and may have a problem with Beyoncé, specifically.

The Rock's new movie features a cameo from Henry Cavill's Superman at the end -- which looked like the headless horseman before the real McCoy got hired. Also ... spoilers ahead!

Per THR ... the last-minute addition was actually something WB and the creatives behind "Black Adam" -- Dwayne's debut superhero flick -- had conceived even prior to getting HC onboard, which manifested in them shooting the post-credits scene with a stand-in.

That body double, however, was reportedly silhouetted and obscured in post -- to where they entirely hid his face, only showing part of a guy in Superman's costume -- because they hadn't struck a deal with Cavill yet ... even though the intention was to bring him back.

They reportedly shot the scene in a matter of minutes earlier this year and did test screenings of it -- with the headless Superman at first -- to which fans responded incredibly positively. That confirmed to producers ... they had to get Henry, one way or another.

The DP who helmed 'BA' responded to the great feedback ... "Wow, this is 100 percent going to work. Now they need to figure out if they can get the guy with the head to be there."

If you haven't heard by now ... Cavill is returning to the DCEU for at least one more 'Superman' movie (and perhaps more) after a Herculean lobbying effort by The Rock.

Reports say he moved mountains to broker a deal to get everyone's favorite MoS back into the picture, despite pushback from some studio heads ... namely, Walter Hamada, who was dead set on moving on from the Zack Snyder era, regardless of fans who voiced otherwise.

Now that WH is outta there, though, it seems the new WB -- operating in conjunction with Discovery -- is willing to try Cavill one more time. No pumpkin noggin fill-ins needed either!

Billie Eilish might very well be dating The Neighbourhood's Jesse Rutherford -- and Twitter is in a tizzy over it ... calling out the big age difference as wildly inappropriate.

A video surfaced online this weekend that appears to show Billie and Jesse leaving a haunted maze at Halloween Horror Nights in L.A. Friday night ... and as they're exiting, you see the two of them hold hands and walk off with a group that's trailing them.

While you can't quite make out Jesse or Billie's faces too clearly in the video, there's no question this is them ... you see, the internet has already retraced their steps, and they were both out and about last night in the exact same clothes.

Based on pics that JR and Billie posted on their respective socials -- they're all wearing the outfits seen in the clip, as were the guys that Jesse was rolling with (Finneas included).

There are also photos of Billie hanging out with Jesse from back in August of this year, so it's possible they may have been romantic since then.

Whether it was then or now, though, the cat's kind of out of the bag at this point. And fans sure have a lot to say about it -- mostly bad things, BTW.

The reason this is picking up steam is because Billie's 20 years old and Jesse is 11 years her senior ... at 31. While that might not normally be a huge deal on its own, Twitter truthers are noting Billie and Jesse have actually known each other for a good long while now -- which, to them, makes this would-be relationship all the more problematic.

Additional photos of Billie and Jesse posing together at what looks like a Halloween party date back to at least 2017 ... when Billie was around 15 years old.

Point being ... a lot of people are cringing at the fact that Jesse knew Billie when she was underage, only to seemingly hook up with her in adulthood. Many are saying it's gross and creepy, but the reality is ... they're both adults now, and can do what they want.

Billie has been linked to a small handful of guys since blowing up and becoming famous -- but has never really embraced anyone super publicly. She has said she likes to keep her personal affairs -- including SOs -- private because of the frenzy that fires up when the world gets a taste of her love life.