YouTube

Famous reptile enthusiast Brian Barczyk has sadly passed away after spending 10 days in hospice care ... following a brave battle with pancreatic cancer.

The announcement was made Monday ... with the folks at his Reptarium Reptile Zoo paying tribute to their "exceptional" visionary, mentor and friend in an emotional IG statement ... where they praised Brian's ability to touch innumerable hearts and minds globally with his fervent passion for reptiles and wildlife.

They added, "For those of us who had the privilege of working alongside him, Brian's absence leaves an immeasurable void. As we navigate this difficult time, we find comfort in the memories and the lasting light of Brian's work. He will be deeply missed but indeed, never forgotten."

Brian received news of his devastating stage four pancreatic cancer diagnosis almost a year ago ... and it looks like he knew what was coming as just days earlier, he shared an emotional goodbye video.

The reptile influencer once said ... "I'm ready, guys. It was a tough year. It was so painful, the pain was incredible, the sickness was incredible, the treatment was incredible, everything about it was so bad" ... while also thanking his "reptile army" for their support.

Brian made a career out of his love for reptiles ... starring on the Discovery Channel's "Venom Hunters" and kickstarting his successful YouTube career in 2016. He had 5.26 million subscribers and collaborated with the likes of Logan and Jake Paul.

As well his Reptarium Reptile Zoo, he was also the founder of Legasea Aquarium.

He also owned the third-largest collection of snakes in the world -- over 30,000, actively participating in venom milking.

He leaves behind his wife Lori and their two children, Noah and Jade. A memorial in honor of Brian will be held on Wednesday by his family in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Lil Nas X está tratando de limpiar el caos que su single "J Christ" ha causado en la comunidad cristiana, pero el daño podría estar hecho, si las reacciones de estos artistas significan algo.

El Sr. Montero se expresó en Insta el lunes para pedir disculpas por todas las reacciones, pero también admitió que estaba sorprendido por el nivel de odio que recibió.

Lil Nas X dice que se imaginaba que las masas habrían captado su sátira, es decir, su lucha contra Satanás en el video y su alejamiento del lado oscuro, por así decirlo. Continúa diciendo que la inspiración en Jesús pretendía ser una metáfora de su carrera resucitada.

Admite, sin embargo, que su video promocional quizás llevó las cosas demasiado lejos. Se disculpa por las payasadas, al tiempo que niega ser el anticristo enviado para arruinar los valores familiares.

A pesar del "lo siento" de Nas X, varios de los principales raperos cristianos de hoy en día no están de acuerdo. Piensan que su nueva campaña "J Christ" se burla abiertamente de su religión y ¡no están de acuerdo!

Dee-1 no es ajeno a llamar la atención a artistas que siente que están llevando a los fans por caminos oscuros, y publicó una foto junto a un mural de Lil Nas X advirtiendo que su sello discográfico —Columbia Records— le estaba permitiendo ser un maniquí de choque para los cristianos.

Dee sugirió que Lil estaba "Herido por la iglesia", siendo rechazado por ser gay.

Lecrae, el primer rapero en ganar un Grammy al Mejor Álbum Gospel, se hizo eco de pensamientos similares e instó a sus seguidores a orar por Lil, argumentando que no es una causa perdida, todavía.

El huracán Chris —que nos dijo que le dio crédito a Jesús por su veredicto de inocencia tras ser absuelto de asesinato— fue mucho menos indulgente y amenazó con resucitar las Cruzadas y luchar por su Señor y Salvador contra lo que él percibe como el mal en la canción de Nas X.

Lil Nas X is trying to clean up the mess that his "J Christ" single has caused in the Christian community ... but the damage might be done, if these artists' reactions mean anything.

Mr. Montero hopped on IG on Monday to apologize for all the backlash but also admitted he was surprised by the level of hate he received all the same.

Lil Nas X says he figured the masses would have picked up on his satire ... namely, him combatting Satan in the video and turning away from the dark side, so to speak. He goes on to say the Jesus inspo was aimed to be a metaphor for his resurrected career.

He does admit, however, that his communion promo video perhaps took things too far ... he apologizes for the antics ... while denying he's the anti-Christ sent to ruin family values.

Despite Nas X's I'm-sorry ... several of today's top Christian rappers may beg to differ ... they think his new "J Christ" campaign openly mocks their religion and they're not going for it!!!

Dee-1 is no stranger to calling out artists he feels are leading fans down dark paths and posted up next to a mural of Lil Nas X ... and warned him his record label Columbia Records was allowing him to be a crash dummy for Christians.

Dee suggested LNX was suffering from "church hurt" -- shunned for being gay but still told him to cut it out.

Lecrae, the first rapper to ever win a Grammy for Best Gospel Album, echoed similar thoughts and urged his following to pray for LNX -- arguing he's not a lost cause, yet.

Hurricane Chris -- who told us he credited Jesus for his not guilty verdict after being acquitted of murder -- was far less forgiving and threatened to resurrect the Crusades ... and slide for his Lord and Savior against what he perceives as the evil in Nas X's song.

A prankster was arrested in Europe earlier this month for dumping buckets of dog feces onto unsuspecting metro passengers in Belgium -- all for some clicks on YouTube.

Authorities in Belgium have had enough of his crap ... arresting and charging the individual they named as Y.D. with assault and battery, damage to property using violence and property damage on January 3 -- a day after he reportedly confessed to police about this prank in Brussels.

It wasn't just dog feces ... cops say he hurled a mixture of diverse substances such as excrement, oil, beer, water, fallen leaves and paint at innocent bystanders.

Since his arrest, the man's been identified as YaNike on YouTube ... where the prosecutor's office says the incidents can be traced in 7 of his 16 vids.

In his most offending video from November 28, titled "Suprise du chef (6)" -- translated to "Chef's Surprise" -- he dumps a bucket full of the nasty fecal matter onto a horrified train passenger before fleeing.

The victim filed a complaint, according to local outlet Sudinfo ... and a complaint was also filed by the local transportation operator there, STIB, according to Politico.

YaNike only has around 480 subscribers, so he wasn't anywhere near a big name on YouTube ... needless to say, the pressure to do anything for viral fame truly stinks.

Un bromista fue arrestado en Europa a principios de este mes por verter cubos de heces de perro en los pasajeros del metro de Bélgica y todo por algunos clics de YouTube.

Las autoridades de Bélgica han tenido suficiente de su mierda. El chico, al que nombraron como Y.D., fue detenido y acusado el 3 de enero de asalto y agresión y daños a la propiedad utilizando la violencia, un día después de que al parecer confesara sobre su broma a la policía.

No fueron solo las heces de perro. La policía dice que también lanzó una mezcla de diversas sustancias como excrementos, aceite, cerveza, agua, hojas caídas y pintura a transeúntes inocentes.

Desde su detención, el hombre ha sido identificado como YaNike en YouTube y la oficina del fiscal dice que los incidentes pueden ser rastreados en 7 de sus 16 videos.

En su video más ofensivo del 28 de noviembre, titulado "Suprise du chef (6)", el chico vierte un cubo lleno de materia fecal sobre un pasajero de tren horrorizado antes de huir.

La víctima presentó una denuncia, según el medio local Sudinfo y también fue presentada una por el operador de transporte local, STIB, según Politico.

The late, great George Carlin has a new comedy special out -- thanks to the use of AI technology ... but one person who is up in arms about it is his daughter, Kelly.

The producer/screenwriter dished her thoughts on this new AI special, "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead," that's making the rounds right now ... in which a fake George Carlin -- recreated through an AI program -- cranked out new jokes ... in the vein of the real McCoy.

It sure sounds like GC, and the delivery is the same too -- as are the topics he famously touched on -- like religion, and some new material on Elon Musk, streaming, and more.

Kelly responded, laying it all out there in a statement, saying, "My dad spent a lifetime perfecting his craft from his very human life, brain and imagination. No machine will ever replace his genius."

She says artificial intelligence products are "clever attempts at trying to recreate a mind that will never exist again" -- adding the whole thing "stepped over a line."

Kelly urges folks to let the artist's work speak for itself ... reminding fans that the real George Carlin has 14 specials that are available everywhere -- if ya wanna listen to the actual material.

The bizarre standup set was made as part of the Podcast, Dudesy -- hosted by Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen -- and folks online have been siding with Kelly, thinking the whole thing is just weird.

And we'll say ... however close AI will get to the real thing, it'll never top the perfection that George brought to the stage for decades. Kelly has a point -- this is close, but no cigar.

Lil Nas X's claim of being accepted to a Christian college was a fib of biblical proportions -- at least according to the higher ed institution itself ... who says they've never heard of him.

A spokesperson for Liberty University tells TMZ Hip Hop, "We can confirm that Liberty University did not issue the Montero Hill 'acceptance letter' posted yesterday to social media, and we have no record of Montero Hill applying to the University. Liberty University exists to glorify God by equipping men and women in higher education in fidelity to the Christian faith expressed through the Holy Scriptures."

"We continue to pray for America and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be proclaimed across this land. We welcome all to apply and join us at Liberty University."

LNX posted the phony placard as part of his new song rollout that's hellbent on convincing fans he's not the devil-worshipping dandy that Dave Chappelle made him out to be in his newest Netflix special.

Many people noted the letter he posted was edited/old ... 'cause the ex-Prez whose John Hancock is on there died a long time ago -- so it was easy to spot the fake. Still, now we got LU officially shutting it down ... and sending prayers Nas X's way too to boot.

Of course, this stunt is just the latest LNX has pulled over the past few weeks to plug this new single of his -- 'J Christ' -- which is very much the opposite of his devil song from a few years ago ... "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)." Now, he's trying to seem holier than thou.

Speaking of this new track ... Lil Nas X dropped a teaser of the music video for it on Wednesday -- and there's a bunch of celebrity lookalikes heading up to the pearly gates.

Funny enough, we saw photos of these same actors a couple months ago doing a shoot -- and while we didn't know what this was for at the time ... we certainly do now. You can take a peek and check out the photos yourself to see what was happening behind the scenes.

Montero may not be a holy roller on campus next semester but he's still pumped to take his fans on a divine journey ... judging from his upcoming "J Christ" music video that spoofs several celebrities walking up the stairways to heaven.

We got a hold of some pics from the shoot ... doppelgängers of everyone from Taylor Swift to Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson, Kanye West -- even Queen Elizabeth can be seen Nasing it up!!!

Tiger Woods is proving yet again why he's the greatest golfer ever ... recently winning a long-drive competition -- from his knees!!

The Big Cat performed the wild feat while messing around on a course with the guys from Barstool Sports' Fore Play Podcast.

Woods was helping the trio with some of the worst aspects of their games -- when he suddenly challenged Riggs to a contest to see who could hit a golf ball farther.

Riggs -- who had just received some pointers from Woods -- went first ... and he striped one right down the middle of the fairway that appeared to easily pass 200-plus yards.

Woods then teed up his ball ... but instead of taking his normal stance, he dropped to his knees -- and then swung his driver.

Of course, the golf legend piped one well past Riggs' despite no real use of his legs ... which left everyone on the course in disbelief.

"You're a sicko," Riggs said. "That was awesome!"

Woods insinuated he had been practicing the shot plenty recently -- obviously due to all the ailments he's suffered in his lower body since his 2021 car crash.

Vivek Ramaswamy espera que Jake Paul pueda darle un golpe decisivo en la campaña electoral, por eso se están uniendo para una etapa crucial en su búsqueda de la nominación del GOP.

La temporada de primarias presidenciales comienza el próximo lunes en Iowa… y Jake y Vivek estarán lado a lado el domingo mientras recorren el estado, instando a los jóvenes de la generación Z a salir y votar.

La portavoz de Vivek, Tricia McLaughlin, le cuenta a TMZ… “Estamos muy emocionados de que Jake se una a la campaña y esperamos que pueda motivar a los jóvenes”.

Continúa diciendo que, aunque Vivek está viendo mucho entusiasmo entre los jóvenes votantes, la popularidad de Jake y su capacidad para atraer a una multitud será un gran activo en la víspera de las asambleas de Iowa.

Nos comentan que el dúo viajará en el avión privado de Vivek a eventos en 4 de las universidades más grandes de Iowa, todo como parte del “Compromiso con la concentración.”

Tricia dice que Vivek habló con Jake sobre unirse a la campaña hace algunas semanas, cuando asistió a la pelea de Jake contra Andre August en Florida. Como informamos, Jake consiguió asientos de primera fila para Vivek.

No hay duda, Ramaswamy necesita un impulso importante. Las encuestas recientes muestran que está muy por debajo del 10 por ciento de los posibles votantes de las asambleas del GOP en Iowa… pero la campaña de Vivek insiste en que están llegando a un grupo de votantes que no se tiene en cuenta en esas encuestas.

Vivek Ramaswamy is hoping Jake Paul can deliver a knockout punch for him on the campaign trail ... which is why they're teaming up for a critical stretch in his bid for the GOP nomination.

The presidential primary season starts next Monday in Iowa ... and we're told Jake and Vivek will be side-by-side on Sunday as they travel around the state urging Gen-Zers to come out and vote.

Vivek's spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, tells TMZ ... "We're very excited Jake's joining on the campaign trail and we're hoping it can really drive out younger people."

She goes on to say that while Vivek is seeing a lot of enthusiasm from young voters, Jake's star power and ability to command a crowd is going to be a major asset on the eve of the Iowa caucus.

We're told the duo will travel in Vivek's private plane to events at 4 of the biggest universities in Iowa ... all as part of the "Commit to Caucus Rally."

Tricia says Vivek talked to Jake about joining the campaign trail a few weeks ago ... when he attended Jake's fight against Andre August in Florida. As we reported, Jake hooked up Vivek with ringside seats.

Make no mistake, Ramaswamy needs a big spark. Recent polls show he's well under 10 percent of likely Iowa GOP caucus voters ... but Vivek's campaign is adamant they're tapping into a group of voters that isn't accounted for in those polls.

Logan Paul dice que está comprometiendo más de 2.3 millones de dólares para corregir los errores de su fracasado CryptoZoo y también está presentando una demanda contra la gente que afirma que descarriló su juego.

Logan está cumpliendo su promesa de volver a comprar Base Egg y Base Animal tokens no fungibles de CryptoZoo, por su precio de compra original a través de un sitio web donde los inversores pueden presentar reclamaciones.

Recordemos que Logan anunció el juego CryptoZoo en 2021, facturando el proyecto animado NFT como "un juego muy divertido que hace dinero." Según se informa, el juego se inspiró en Pokémon y a las personas que pagaron $1.100 se les dijo que podían incubar, criar, coleccionar y comercializar híbridos de animales exóticos en la blockchain. La primera tanda de 11.000 NFT se agotó rápidamente, pero CryptoZoo nunca llegó a comercializarse.

Logan dice que tenía "las mejores intenciones" para CryptoZoo y "nunca ganó un solo centavo con el proyecto". Dice que gastó $400K desarrollando el juego y dice que se completó a principios de 2023, pero no fue lanzado debido a "obstáculos con la regulación que no comprendía realmente en un principio".

Logan añade: "Al igual que usted, yo estaba muy decepcionado porque el juego no fue entregado".

Logan dice que su programa de recompra de 2.3 millones de dólares "no está destinado a compensar a aquellos que apostaron en el mercado de criptomonedas y perdieron".

Además de la recompra de NFT, Logan también está tomando medidas legales, alegando en una nueva demanda que el desarrollador principal de CryptoZoo —Eduardo Ibáñez— y el "Crypto King" Jake Greenbaum son los culpables del fracaso del juego y no él.

En los documentos obtenidos por TMZ, una de las primeras banderas rojas en el proyecto ocurrió justo después del día de lanzamiento, con la actividad comercial sospechosa sucediendo, donde parecía docenas de personas ajenas al proyecto que de alguna manera obtuvieron información de la existencia del nuevo mercado de ZOO Tokens.

La demanda afirma que la actividad comercial poco clara hizo que la capitalización de mercado de ZOO Tokens cayera de unos 130 millones de dólares a 26 millones de dólares.

Logan Paul says he's committing more than $2.3 million to right the wrongs of his failed CryptoZoo ... and he's also filing a lawsuit against the folks he claims derailed his game.

Logan's delivering on his promise to buy back Base Egg and Base Animal non-fungible tokens from CryptoZoo for their original purchase price ... via a website where investors can submit claims.

Remember ... Logan announced the CryptoZoo game back in 2021, billing the animated NFT project as "a really fun game that makes you money." The game reportedly drew inspiration from Pokémon and folks who paid .1 Ethereum were told they could hatch, breed, collect and trade  exotic animal hybrids on the blockchain. The first wave of 11,000 NFTs quickly sold out but CryptoZoo was never released.

Logan says he had "only the best possible intentions" for CryptoZoo and "never made a single penny from the project." He says he spent $400K developing the game and says it was completed in early 2023 but wasn't released due to "regulatory hurdles that would need to be cleared that I did not originally understand."

LP adds ... "Like you, I was highly disappointed the game was not delivered."

Logan says his $2.3 million buyback program "is a way for me to make whole those who intended to play CryptoZoo. The buyback is not intended to compensate those who gambled on the crypto market and lost."

In addition to the NFT buyback, Logan is also taking legal action ... claiming in a new lawsuit that CryptoZoo lead developer Eduardo Ibanez and "Crypto King" Jake Greenbaum are to blame for the game's failure and not him.

In the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- one of the first red flags in the project happened just after launch day, with suspicious trading activity happening ... where it appeared dozens of project outsiders somehow got info of the existence of the new market for ZOO Tokens.

The lawsuit claims the sketchy trading activity caused the market capitalization of ZOO Tokens to drop from about $130 million to $26 million.

Rickey Smiley is doubling down on being the first choice for Katt Williams' "Money Mike" role in Ice Cube's "Friday After Next" -- after Katt called him a liar -- and says they just changed the role!!!

On Thursday, Rickey cleared the air on his morning show and tackled KW's explosive interview from Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" head-on.

Katt snapped on several prominent Black comedians -- Steve Harvey, Cedric The Entertainer and Kevin Hart all got snubbed -- but Katt especially ripped apart Rickey's acting abilities.

Katt claimed he drafted a contract that enforced Rickey to wear a dress the next time they appeared in a film together ... which was 2008's "First Sunday" where Rickey appeared as his female alter-ego "Bernice Jenkins."

Rickey denied there was any such contract, and says director David E. Talbert personally asked him to portray the role in the film, which was produced by Cube as well.

Rickey noted how Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx all played female characters in the past and it didn't disrupt their legacies ... despite Katt hinting it was a down payment to an Illuminati membership!!!

Katt also accused Rickey of lying about getting stripped of the "Money Mike" role, but Rickey doubled down ... insisting his version of the character wasn't a pimp but more like a street cat from around the way.

After Katt auditioned, Cube and the producers gave him the part and allowed him to add his own flair to the role -- a move Rickey says he agreed with, as it became KW's breakout role in Hollywood.

Bam Margera is famously afraid of snakes, which makes this new video all the more cringe-worthy to watch ... as he tries (and mostly succeeds in) facing that fear.

The former 'Jackass' star appeared in a new segment from a group of young pranksters called the MadHouse Boys -- who posted the full video on their YouTube page capturing the moment they had BM confront a giant python face-to-face.

Check it out ... Bam's blindfolded from the jump, and as soon as they remove it -- he sees what's in front of him and makes a run for it. After some cajoling though, he comes back.

As you see, he eventually brings himself to pose with the python -- thanks to his fiancée Dannii Marie, who stuck it out with him and helped him overcome his crippling anxiety.

Later in the video, the MadHouse guys give him a much smaller snake to hold on his own -- and he conquers that, too ... albeit, with a lot of wincing and squirming around. Still though!

Bam's fear of snakes is well-documented -- he did a bunch of stunts with Johnny Knoxville and co. back in the day that put him right in the midst of these slithering beasts -- and he freaked the hell out each and every time. Good content then, and great content now.

Imagine Dragons está ayudando a la familia de un chico ucraniano de 15 años a reconstruir su casa, después de que el lugar fuera destruido por la guerra aún en curso en su país.

Sashko es el adolescente de Ucrania que aparece en el video musical de la canción "Crushed". El video y la canción se convirtieron en un gran éxito en gran parte debido a la historia de Sashko, que lo perdió todo a manos de las fuerzas rusas.

El hogar del niño fue completamente destruido durante la primavera de 2022. Poco después, el director de fotografía de Imagine Dragons, Ty Arnold, conoció a Sashko durante un viaje a Ucrania, se sintió conmovido por su historia y quiso dar a conocer al mundo los horrores que estaba enfrentando.

El video musical provocó donaciones masivas a UNITED24, una plataforma lanzada por el Presidente Zelensky para recoger donaciones para los ucranianos, con la que Imagine Dragons se asoció.

UNITED24 utilizó los fondos para pagar toda la restauración de la casa de Sashko y nos dicen que Ty entregó las llaves de la casa la semana pasada a Sashko y su madre.

Imagine Dragons is helping a 15-year-old Ukrainian boy's family get their home back together .... after the place was destroyed during the ongoing war in his country.

Sashko is the teenager from Ukraine who was featured in the music video for the band's song, "Crushed" ... the video and song became a huge hit in large part due to Sashko's story about losing everything at the hands of Russian forces.

The boy's home was completely obliterated in 2022. Shortly after the Imagine Dragons' Director of Photography Ty Arnold met Sashko during a trip to Ukraine and was moved by Sashko's story ... and wanted to let the world know about the horrors Sashko faced.

The music video sparked massive donations to UNITED24 -- a platform launched by President Zelensky to collect donations for Ukrainian's -- because Imagine Dragons teamed up with the organization.

Thanks to the Imagine Dragons video, UNITED24 found a private donor to rebuild Sashko's house.

UNITED24 used the funds to pay for the entire restoration of Sashko's house ... and we're told Ty handed over the keys to the rebuilt home last week to Sashko and his mother.