You Might Want to Rethink

Jussie Smollett's legal troubles are far from over ... but it looks as though he's working overtime to get his career back on track.

The troubled actor was seen reuniting with "Empire" showrunner Brett Mahoney ... with the duo sharing a hug Thursday outside Crossroads Kitchen in Los Angeles.

The sighting triggered speculation of a possible future collab ... though any TV comeback is realistically a long way off for Jussie as he deals with his personal and legal worries.

Sources told us just before Xmas ... Jussie was still in the midst of a rehab stint for substance abuse ... after checking himself into an outpatient facility in back in October.

He recently lost his appeal after being convicted for lying to cops about the fake Chicago hate crime attack back in 2019.

Jussie's lawyers say they'll continue their fight in the Illinois Supreme Court, although there's no guarantee the Court will hear the case.

If the Court turns thumbs down on hearing the case, Jussie could return to jail as soon as January to complete his 150 day sentence ... he's only served 6 days.

Boosie Badazz is scolding his oldest child for constantly wearing a ski mask, or a "Pooh Shiesty" as it's known in the streets ... and it's based on concerns for his son's safety.

The Louisiana rapper's fatherly instincts kicked in during an IG livestream session after peeping his son Tootie Raw wearing the mask, for what Boosie claims, was "two days straight."

Boosie says he's from the old school and anyone wearing those masks back in the day was 100% guaranteed to be up to no good.

Pooh Shiesty, who's currently serving a 5-year prison sentence for gun conspiracy charges, popularized the masked-up look when he blew up back in 2020 ... but Boosie doesn't consider it a fashion statement.

He warned Tootie that the right kinda guys might get the wrong impression of him and his friends and they could potentially attack first ... because that's exactly what he would do.

Boosie echoed maturity like this when we spoke to him earlier this year alongside Freeway Rick Ross.

Don Lemon says the most detrimental presidential candidate Americans could elect isn't Donald Trump ... but rather Nikki Haley.

The former CNN host joined us Friday on "TMZ Live," and said he thinks there's good reason to sound an alarm on Haley's campaign ... saying she's a more dangerous candidate than Trump.

Don says it's a case of the devil you know versus the devil you don't ... calling out Haley for being unclear on her views, flip-flopping on Trump's insurrection and ripping her track record on abortion and racism.

The way Don sees it ... we've already survived one Trump presidency, and Haley presents a new set of unknowns that might end up being worse than anything Trump ever did.

It's another shot at Haley from Don ... as we reported, he blasted her on social media Thursday for leaving slavery out of her answer on the cause of the Civil War.

Haley's apologized and asked for grace, something Don says is hypocritical.

Remember, Don and Nikki had beef when he was at CNN ... he called her past her prime, and says she showed him no grace for his poor choice of words ... which he's said was just a prime case of misspeaking on live television.

Don's speaking out on political issues for the first time since leaving his post at CNN ... and he says he can finally speak his mind about all candidates, including Republicans.

While he says he doesn't want Trump back in office, and Haley might be worse ... he tells us why Chris Christie is earning his respect, even though he disagrees with most of his policies.

Don Lemon dice que el candidato presidencial más perjudicial que los estadounidenses podrían elegir no es Donald Trump, sino más bien Nikki Haley.

El ex presentador de CNN se unió a nosotros el viernes en "TMZ Live" y nos dijo que hay buenas razones para hacer sonar las alarmas con la campaña de Haley, diciendo que ella es una candidata más peligrosa que Trump

Don dice que es un caso de diablo conocido a diablo por conocer, y critica a Haley por no ser claro respecto a sus puntos de vista, por cambiar de opinión sobre la insurrección de Trump y por su historial sobre el aborto y el racismo.

Desde la perspectiva de Don, ya sobrevivimos a una presidencia de Trump y Haley presenta un nuevo conjunto de incógnitas que podrían terminar siendo peor que cualquier cosa que Trump haya hecho.

Este es otro tiro de Don hacia Haley, como informamos, el presentador la atacó en las redes el jueves por dejar la esclavitud fuera de su respuesta sobre la causa de la Guerra Civil.

Haley se disculpó y pidió comprensión, algo que Don considera hipócrita.

Recuerden, Don y Nikki tuvieron problemas cuando él estaba en CNN. Don le dijo que había pasado su mejor momento.

Don está hablando sobre temas políticos por primera vez desde que dejó su puesto en CNN. Dice que finalmente puede decir lo que piensa de los candidatos, incluidos los republicanos.

Aunque dice que no quiere Trump de nuevo en el cargo, y que Haley podría ser peor, nos explica por qué Chris Christie se está ganando su respeto, a pesar de que no está de acuerdo con la mayoría de sus políticas.

Kanye West's day one advisor Consequence is demanding an apology ... but not for reasons you'd suspect.

On Thursday, Kanye released his $200 Yeezy Pods footwear and Cons showed his solidarity by posting the slipper sneakers but had to give his longtime friend a piece of his mind ... Cons is accusing Ye of throwing him and the team under the bus!!!

According to Cons, Kanye put him and the rest of the Ye's backers ... guys like Don C, John Monopoly, GLC ... in an awkward position when Ye claimed he was alone in his fight against the supposed Jewish powers that be.

Remember, Kanye flipped out during a Vegas listening session for his "Vultures" album a couple weeks back ... Hitler, Jesus Christ and Donald Trump were all swirled into a lengthy word vomit rant.

Cons' face must be stinging, because he's calling his omission a slap in the face!!!

What's more, Cons notes he's been riding with Kanye through thick and thin since 2002 and thinks if Ye can apologize to the Jewish people he offended, then he can muster up an apology to him ... in English!!!

The last time we spoke to Cons, he was doing damage control for Ye's ex-publicist who got herself indicted in Trump's election scandal.

Dwayne Johnson NO es el virgen de In-N-Out Burger que dice ser.

"The Rock" publicó un divertido video a principios de esta semana afirmando que estaba probando In-N-Out Burger por primera vez. El clip generó mucha atención y resultó ser buena publicidad para la cadena.

Mientras disfrutamos de la producción de Dwayne y su entusiasmo por las hamburguesas In-N-Out, las patatas fritas, el proceso de drive-thru sin problemas y sus amables empleados, nos dimos cuenta de que ha hecho esto mismo antes.

De hecho, esta es la TERCERA vez que Dwayne menciona ir a In-N-Out por primera vez.

Curiosamente, Dwayne publicó un video en Instagram en agosto de 2022 documentando una comida de In-N-Out Double-Doubles, patatas fritas y su propia marca de tequila.

Por supuesto, Dwayne mezcló tequilas reposado y blanco en el mismo vaso para lavar su In-N-Out el año pasado, así que tal vez se olvidó de todo el asunto.

Pero luego está el hecho de que The Rock también publicó sobre su "primera" experiencia en In-N-Out en 2017, esa vez fue solo una selfie con un par de empleados de In-N-Out en la ventanilla de autoservicio.

En su publicación de febrero de 2017, Dwayne añadió un largo pie de foto explicando que su esposa y su hija querían In-N-Out. También prometió "destruir múltiples hamburguesas" si su película "Moana" ganaba un Oscar unos días después... bueno, la película no lo consiguió.

Así que Dwayne ha estado en In-N-Out y ha probado la comida antes de afirmar esta semana que estaba teniendo su "primera experiencia" en la popular cadena.

Anthony Bourdain dijo una vez que conseguiría más likes en las publicaciones de IG sobre In-N-Out que en las fotos con grandes celebridades y parece que Dwayne también quiere algo de eso.

Dwayne Johnson is NOT the In-N-Out Burger virgin he claims to be.

"The Rock" posted a fun video earlier this week claiming he was trying In-N-Out Burger for the first time ... leading to a lot of attention, headlines and pats on the back.

While we enjoyed Dwayne's production and his zest for In-N-Out hamburgers, fries, the smooth drive-thru process and their friendly employees ... we noticed he's done this same thing before.

In fact, this is the THIRD time Dwayne's mentioned going to In-N-Out for the first time.

Funnily enough, Dwayne posted a video on Instagram in August 2022 documenting a cheat meal of In-N-Out Double-Doubles, fries and his own brand of tequila.

Of course, Dwayne mixed reposado and blanco tequilas in the same glass to wash down his In-N-Out last year ... so maybe he forgot about the whole thing.

But then there's the fact The Rock also posted about his "first" In-N-Out experience back in 2017 ... that time it was just a selfie with a couple In-N-Out employees at the drive-thru window.

In his February 2017 post, Dwayne added a long caption explaining his wife and daughter wanted In-N-Out. He also promised to "destroy multiple burgers" should his "Moana" movie win an Oscar a few days later ... well, the movie came up empty.

So, Dwayne's at least been to In-N-Out and tried the food before claiming this week he was having his "first ever" experience at the popular chain.

Anthony Bourdain once said he would get more likes on IG posts about In-N-Out than pics with huge celebs ... and it seems Dwayne's wanting some of that engagement too.

John Salley says the Ja Morant critics need to pipe down ... telling TMZ Sports he truly believes the NBA superstar didn't have bad intentions when he appeared to do a gun celebration on Tuesday night.

Salley told us the firearm-themed gestures -- which Morant seemed to hit following a thunderous alley-oop dunk in the Grizzlies' overtime win over the Pelicans -- were merely "a part of hip hop culture" ... and nothing more than that.

"He's not saying, 'Forget ya'll -- I got my gun!'" the four-time NBA champion said on Wednesday. "He probably didn't even realize it."

"It's nothing meaning anything," he added.

Of course, basketball fans all over social media have disagreed with that stance -- with many on X calling it a "tone-deaf" situation ... considering the 24-year-old had just served a 25-game suspension for a string of incidents involving gun-related social media videos.

Salley, however, was just sure there was no ill will involved in the post-dunk celly.

"I don't think he's trying to mock anybody," Salley said. "I don't think he's trying to be mean about it."

"Leave Ja Morant alone ... Leave him alone."

Salley also shared with us his opinion on his former Detroit Pistons squad -- which just lost its 27th game in a row on Tuesday night.

La disculpa de Kanye West por sus comentarios antisemitas carecían del estilo animado que el rapero suele utilizar en sus mensajes en línea y se lee directamente de un chatbot de inteligencia artificial.

Después de que Kanye publicó la disculpa en las redes sociales, los fans comenzaron a acusarlo de usar AI para redactar su punto así que hicimos algunas investigaciones... y descubrimos algo impactante.

Hemos introducido la disculpa de Kanye en un detector de contenido de IA, que ha destacado algunas palabras de moda típicamente asociadas con frases de chatbot, como "pido disculpas sinceramente", "no era mi intención herir" y "promover la unidad", entre otras.

El detector de contenido de IA dice que hay un 85% de posibilidades de que la disculpa de Kanye haya sido escrita por un computador.

Recordemos que el día después de Navidad, Kanye sorprendió al mundo disculpándose en hebreo.

La disculpa dice: "Pido sinceras disculpas a la comunidad judía por cualquier arrebato involuntario causado por mis palabras o acciones, no era mi intención herir o faltar al respeto y lamento profundamente cualquier dolor que pueda haber causado. Me comprometo a empezar conmigo mismo y a aprender de esta experiencia para garantizar una mayor sensibilidad y comprensión en el futuro. Vuestro perdón es importante para mí y me comprometo a reparar el daño y promover la unidad".

No suena al típico Kanye, ¿verdad?

Más pruebas de que Kanye recurrió a la IA para escribir su disculpa son que le pedimos a ChatGPT que escribiera una disculpa y después de varias indicaciones y un poco de ensayo y error el ordenador escupió una declaración extrañamente similar a la de Kanye.

Esto es lo que recibimos de ChatGPT, con las palabras que Kanye utilizó en negrita: "Pido sinceras disculpas a la comunidad judía por mi reciente arrebato involuntario. No era mi intención herir o degradar, y lamento profundamente cualquier dolor causado. Me comprometo a aprender de esta experiencia, a promover la unidad y a reparar el daño causado. Vuestro perdón significa mucho para mí".

Por supuesto, Ye tiene un álbum repleto de estrellas —"Vultures"— con Ty Dolla $ign para cerrar el año el 31 de diciembre y entrar a cometir con los gigantes del streaming es la mejor jugada para su regreso musical.

Sabremos con certeza si los fans se creen el mea culpa después de que publique sus cifras de la primera semana.

Kanye West's apology for his tirade of antisemitic comments lacked the animated flair the megastar rapper typically uses in his online posts ... and it reads straight out of an artificial intelligence chatbot.

After Kanye posted the apology on social media, fans started accusing him of using AI to get his point across ... so we did some digging, and made a shocking discovery.

We plugged Kanye's apology into an AI content detector, which highlighted some strong buzzwords typically associated with chatbot phrases ... including "sincerely apologize," "It was not my intention to hurt" and "promoting unity" ... among others.

The AI content detector says there's an 85% chance Kanye's apology was written by a computer.

Remember ... the day after Christmas, Kanye shocked the world by delivering his "I'm Sorry" speech in Hebrew, which translates to a fairly streamlined message.

The apology reads ... "I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions, it was not my intention to hurt or disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused. I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future. Your forgiveness is important to me, and I am committed to making amends and promoting unity."

Doesn't sound like typical Kanye, right?

More evidence Kanye turned to AI to write his apology ... we engaged ChatGPT to write an apology and after several prompts and some trial and error the computer spat out a statement eerily similar to Kanye's.

Here's what we got back from ChatGPT, with the words Kanye used in bold  ... "I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for my recent unintentional outburst. It was not my intention to hurt or demean, and I deeply regret any pain caused. I'm committed to learning from this experience, promoting unity, and making amends. Your forgiveness means a lot to me."

Of course, Ye's got a star-studded "Vultures" album with Ty Dolla $ign dropping to close out the year on December 31, and getting in the good graces of all the streaming giants is the best play for his music comeback.

We'll know for sure if the fans buy into the mea culpa after his first-week numbers post.

One fan is preparing for the Duke's Mayo Bowl by glugging a bottle of mayonnaise -- and while we're sure his stomach won't be happy with him later today ... it's clear the vibes are high heading into the big condiment-themed contest!!

The college football fan performed the chug just hours before UNC vs. West Virginia kicked off the bowl game on Wednesday afternoon -- and if you've got a weak tummy, video from the scene might not be for you.

In the clips, you can see the dude was partying at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl FanFest near Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte when he grabbed a tube of mayo and got busy.

The fella -- sporting a Nike hoodie and blue jeans -- took a couple shots and didn't flinch -- and the Duke's social media team was so impressed ... they blasted footage of his feat all over X.

While some were grossed out by it all, it did draw positive reviews, with one fan commenting, "I hope my alma mater gets to play in this bowl someday."

Of course, the mayonnaise guzzle will hardly be the most cringeworthy thing to come from today's bowl game -- after all, the winning coach is slated to be doused in the condiment!!

Jaire Alexander's eyebrow-raising actions during Sunday's pregame ceremonies have just cost him dearly ... because the Packers revealed Wednesday they're suspending him for the debacle.

If you missed it, the Green Bay cornerback ruffled some serious feathers over the weekend when he nearly blew the coin toss for his team just prior to its tilt with the Panthers in Carolina.

Alexander unexpectedly joined the Packers' captains at midfield ... called tails, and when he told the refs he wanted to start the game on defense -- it almost cost the Pack a possession.

Thankfully for Alexander and Green Bay, the snafu got cleared up and the team went on to win 33-30 ... but on Wednesday, the Packers made it clear they're furious over the situation.

General manager Brian Gutekunst said the 26-year-old has been banned one game for the incident ... adding in a statement, "Jaire's actions prior to the game in Carolina led us to take this step."

"As an organization, we have an expectation that everyone puts the team first."

Gutekunst also said the team and Alexander had a conversation about the situation Wednesday morning and the org. "fully" expects him "to learn from this as we move forward together."

Alexander has not publicly commented since the ban was announced -- though in a postgame meeting with reporters Sunday, he didn't show much remorse for his actions ... appearing to say he took it upon himself to go out with the captains since the Packers were playing in his hometown of Charlotte.

Alexander is widely regarded as one of the best young corners in the game -- he's made two Pro Bowls in his six-year career -- although injuries have sidelined him for most of this season.

Peter Rosenberg's not buying Kanye West's apology for his antisemitic comments ... seconding our observation it reads like something outta an AI chatbot.

We got the radio DJ on "TMZ Live" Wednesday, where he notes Ye's remorse was so inauthentic compared to his usual impassioned messages ... it automatically let him know it was bogus.

In fact ... Peter focuses on the rapper's delayed album "Vultures" ... theorizing he was forced into conjuring up a blanket apology after record execs pressured him into it ... in exchange for clearing some tunes on his album.

Peter blasts Ye further ... telling us his message being written in Hebrew was both intentionally and unintentionally offensive ... as if American Jews could easily read the language without vowels.

Noting his years-long obsession with making offensive comments ... Peter says he doesn't think there'll ever be an apology from Ye that could make people forget the uproar he's caused.

As TMZ first noted ... an AI content detector said there was an 85% chance a computer wrote Kanye's apology.

Strong buzz words usually associated with chat phrases like "sincerely apologize," "It was not my intention to hurt," and "promoting unity" were used -- meaning there's a strong chance it didn't come from his heart.

Peter Rosenberg no se está comprando las disculpas de Kanye West por sus comentarios antisemitas y también cree que parece salida de un chatbot de inteligencia artificial.

Tuvimos al DJ en "TMZ Live" el miércoles, en donde señaló que el remordimiento de Ye sonaba poco auténtico en comparación con sus apasionados mensajes habituales, lo que automáticamente le hizo pensar que era falso.

De hecho, Peter se centra en su retrasado álbum "Vultures" y teoriza que el rapero se vio obligado a inventar una disculpa general después de que los ejecutivos discográficos lo presionaran a cambio de despejar algunas melodías en su álbum.

Peter arremete aún más contra Ye, diciendo que su mensaje fuera escrito en hebreo fue a la vez intencionalmente y no intencionalmente ofensivo, como si los judíos estadounidenses pudieran leer fácilmente el idioma sin vocales.

Considerando su obsesión de años haciendo comentarios ofensivos, Peter no cree que exista una disculpa que pueda hacer a la gente olvidar el alboroto que ha causado.

Como TMZ primero señaló, un detector de contenido AI descubrió que había un 85% de posibilidades de que un ordenador hubiera escrito la disculpa de Kanye.

Palabras de moda por lo general asociadas con frases de chat como "sinceramente arrepentido", "No era mi intención herir", y "promover la unidad" fueron utilizadas, lo que significa que hay una gran posibilidad de que no haya venido de su corazón.

One of the biggest "Jeopardy!" champs of all time says the show is in good hands with Ken Jennings ... but he doesn't want Mayim Bialik to vanish completely.

We got Austin Rogers -- who went on a major hot streak in 2017 -- at Gaf East, a bar he just bought in New York City, and we asked him about Mayim announcing her exit as one of the "Jeopardy!" hosts.

Austin says the show will be just fine with Ken taking on an even larger role. Ken's become synonymous with "Jeopardy!" and AR feels he's a big enough name now to soften the blow of Mayim's departure.

Another "Jeopardy!" champ, Amy Schneider agrees ... telling us Ken is the right choice for the everyday hosting gig, in part because he's a big hit with the contestants.

While Mayim says Sony brass told her she won't be hosting the syndicated daily show, the studio is leaving the door open for her to host special episodes ... like "Celebrity Jeopardy" and other primetime tournaments -- and Austin explains why she's a good fit there.

TMZ broke the story ... Mayim's absence during the writers' strike made Sony execs realize they didn't need 2 hosts, and ultimately her loss was Ken's gain.

Austin says Mayim was still right to stand in solidarity with the writers, and he hopes she remains involved ... even if it's not on a daily basis.

Hugh Jackman se pasó un poco con el espíritu navideño en el Rockefeller Center de Nueva York, porque un guardia de seguridad tuvo que darle una advertencia por saltarse una barrera policial.

El actor estaba disfrutando de las festividades navideñas en el punto de referencia cultural en Manhattan, cuando alguien lo grabó caminando frente a las tiendas de alta gama.

Échale un vistazo al clip que publicó en Instagram... Hugh parece más feliz que nunca en el video que se hizo a sí mismo en la atracción turística.

En un momento, Hugh sonríe y levanta los brazos triunfalmente con el árbol de Navidad del Rockefeller Center detrás de él y luego el video se corta.

Aunque nunca vimos al guardia de seguridad, Hugh escribió en su pie de foto de IG: "Recomiendo encarecidamente levantarse muy temprano en la mañana de Navidad y dar un paseo para ver el árbol de Navidad Rockefeller".

Y continuó: "Es tan hermoso y no está lleno de gente en absoluto. Me metí en problemas por ir más allá de la barrera, pero el guardia de seguridad fue amable y me dejó ir con una advertencia".