TMZ.com Home

Gene Simmons is the latest KISS member to come down with COVID-19 -- and with both its frontmen coping with the virus -- the band's been forced to cancel several upcoming tour dates.

KISS announced Tuesday it'll postpone its next 4 tour dates as Gene recovers. The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next 10 days. The band also said on its website, "doctors have indicated the tour should be able to resume on September 9th at FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA."

Furthermore ... all previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates once announced. The news comes just days after Paul Stanley also tested positive for COVID.

TMZ broke the story ... Paul's diagnosis meant the band couldn't take the stage for a scheduled concert in Pennsylvania. Our sources had said Paul is fully vaccinated and feeling fine despite the positive test.

We found video of the band wishing Gene a happy birthday on stage the night before Paul tested positive, and you see them both come face-to-face at one point.

Gene was on "TMZ Live" last week -- following Paul's positive test -- and he told us everyone was quarantining to be safe, and continued to be tested regularly. Turns out, that caution was for good reason.

Forget about where Justin Bieber gets his peaches -- the better question is where he shaves his legs ... at least based on this hilarious billboard swap that has him slipping into Kim Kardashian's underwear line.

Check out this giant tower-sized Balenciaga ad on a Sunset Strip building with Bieber as its leather-jacketed star -- but as you can see, he's lost his lower half somewhere along the way.

Instead of JB's lower abdomen and legs, you see a different set of body parts ... seemingly belonging to a woman rocking SKIMS, Kim's shapewear company.

It's pretty hilarious -- it looks almost intentional due to how seamlessly JB's top mixes with the SKIMS bottom. Even the SKIMS model's arms appear to line up almost perfectly with the Biebs'.

Of course, this had to have been a massive mistake. We can't see a crew working on it in the pic ... but we're guessing they were in the middle of swapping from one ad to the other.

Dale Brisby is getting hyped as 2021's version of Joe Exotic -- and while he does have a new show on Netflix, Dale says there's one huge difference ... he's not behind bars!!!

The star of "How To Be a Cowboy" joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to tell us how a long-time ranch manager and pro bull rider becomes the subject of a wild new TV docuseries.

As a bunch of city slickers, we gotta say it was eye-opening! Dale says he has a fresh group of interns -- half a dozen of 'em -- hungry to learn how to be a real-life cowboy, or how to ride a bull.

He says they're bucket list items for some, and a career starter for others.

The Netflix show drops Wednesday and the reviews are already comparing it to last year's Netflix phenomenon, 'Tiger King.'

Dale seems pretty comfortable with the comparisons, but he makes it clear he doesn't come with Exotic baggage. His character, though, seems just as bold.

BTW, if you're digging Dale's look ... you gotta see him explain why his shades never come off, even when he's riding bulls.

DaBaby's answered the call of a number of HIV organizations for him to become educated on HIV following his homophobic comments ... so he did, and then delivered an apology.

According to the U.S. HIV awareness orgs ... DaBaby met with 9 groups to discuss HIV and share personal stories of folks who are living with the virus. The orgs had sent him a letter earlier this month "to call him in instead of calling him out" and have a thoughtful conversation about his recent comments at the Rolling Loud festival.

DaBaby made gross, homophobic remarks on stage about gay people and people living with HIV, and his subsequent attempts at saying sorry seemed half-hearted and misguided at best.

According to the orgs ... he was much different in the meeting -- "genuinely engaged" they say. The rapper apologized for what he called his inaccurate and hurtful comments about HIV and the impact it had on black and LGBTQ+ communities.

Marnina Miller of the Southern AIDS Coalition says DaBaby's willingness to attend the meeting and learn and grow from his experience could set a positive example.

Other orgs at the meeting included the Black AIDS Institute, GLAAD, Positive Women's Network and Transinclusive Group.

In the wake of his Rolling Loud controversy, DaBaby had several performances canceled -- including headlining Lollapalooza -- but he did make a surprise appearance at Kanye West's latest "Donda" listening party ... which sparked more outrage.

Mike Richards is reportedly leaving "Jeopardy!" altogether ... after stepping down as the host who would replace Alex Trebek, he's now also leaving his role as the show's executive producer ... TMZ has confirmed.

An email sent to staffers Tuesday read, "Mike will no longer be serving as EP of Wheel and Jeopardy! effective immediately.  We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at Jeopardy! it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks. That clearly has not happened."

Richards' departure ties a bow on a whirlwind month for him and the famous game show ... he was tapped as the new day-to-day host, then went on the defensive after controversial comments from his old podcast were dredged up.

The email, sent by EVP Suzanne Prete revealed Michael Davies from Embassy Row will take over Richards' duties on an interim basis.

Prete says, "I know this has been a challenging time for the entire team, and I want to thank you all for your cooperation and professionalism over these last few weeks ... I will be more involved in the day-to-day on our shows moving forward and I am looking forward to working closely with all of you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything."

As we reported ... Mike resigned as the show's new daily host after the remarks from "The Randumb Show" podcast resurfaced -- featuring misogynistic cracks to his female co-host, and a disparaging comment about Jewish people's noses.

Richards apologized a few times to the "Jeopardy!" staff ... but it obviously wasn't enough to save his skin. He initially remained as EP, but now he's completely gone from the show.

Deadline was first to report he's leaving the program entirely.

Soulja Boy is ready to settle his beef with Kanye West the ol' fashioned way -- by throwing hands -- telling TMZ Sports he wants to come face-to-face with Ye for a celeb boxing match for the ages.

Draco recently threatened to beat up West on social media, saying he'd "knock out" the Donda artist ... so when we ran into the hip hop star in L.A. on Monday, we asked about the warning.

"That's just me having some fun, you know what I'm saying? We ain't trippin', man," Soulja says ... "Unless Kanye wants to get in the boxing ring, know what I'm saying? I think we could make $100 to $200 million."

Of course, the beef started when West cut Soulja Boy's "Remote Control" verse out of Donda ... and that really pissed him off.

Soulja's got his hands full ... Aaron Carter recently challenged him to a fight (Celebrity Boxing is trying to lock down the match).

But, a scrap between West and Soulja Boy could be one of the biggest celeb fights of all time.

Bottom line, Soulja's message to Ye is this ... "Kanye, lets get in the boxing ring."

Luciane Piane -- a former producer and judge on "RuPaul's Drag Race" -- was arrested this week for making what cops describe as drunken phone calls ... TMZ has learned.

Oceanside PD tells us Piane was booked Monday for public intoxication, but they were first alerted because of bogus 911 calls. Cops say he made a series of the calls -- 7 of them within 3 minutes, and the same dispatcher picked up several times.

Police say Piane was harassing the dispatchers, allegedly calling them "c***s" ... among other things.

OPD says when officers arrived, they found Piane wandering down the road a ways from the motel. We're told he was cited for making the combative and completely unnecessary calls, but another alleged issue landed him in jail.

We're told, while writing him the citation, officers sensed he might've been under the influence of something and ended up arresting him on suspicion of public intoxication.

Piane was a guest panelist on 'Drag Race' from 2012 to 2016, and helped put the show's music together, as well. He has since moved on from the production altogether.

Ric Flair's barbed wire bat -- the one he used to smash and bloody Mick Foley's face at SummerSlam in 2006 -- just sold for nearly $20K at auction.

TMZ Sports has learned the Lucille-like bat, which was on the block at Goldin Auctions, was bid on 17 times ... and ultimately raked in $19,680.

The starting bid was $3,500.

The match is pretty iconic ... Flair repeatedly hit Foley in the face with the bat, turning him into a bloody pulp. But, Ric wouldn't stop, demanding Mick say, "I quit!"

It was the culmination of a rivalry between Naitch and Foley that lasted more than a decade.

As for the bat itself ... it's an Alex Rodriguez model Louisville Slugger C271 -- wrapped in barbed wire.

And, you know the bat's legit ... 'cause it's coming directly from the folks at WWE -- who have also included a letter of authenticity.

There's more really cool wrestling memorabilia that sold ... like Big Boss Man's match-used nightstick from SummerSlam in 1988. It sold for $6,765.

There's also Brutus Beefcake's shears from his '89 SummerSlam match ... when he teamed up with Hulk Hogan and took on Randy Savage. The scissors went for $8,400.

Louis Gossett Jr. isn't hanging up his acting career anytime soon -- so says the Oscar winner himself, and his reasons are interesting.

We got the acclaimed actor at LAX where we asked about his prolific and prolonged career ... even at this point in his life. Our photog pointed out the 85-year-old actually has quite a few things in the works right now -- 8 projects, in fact, which is wild.

He's been in notable productions of late too -- like the 'Watchmen' TV series. So, the natural follow-up, of course, is to ask ... ya ever gonna retire???

Watch how LGJ answers here -- it doesn't sound like he has any plans to stop in the near future. As for why, it sounds like he likes/needs to keep busy.

As he puts it ... once you hint you're done, the industry's quick to slough you off and move on -- and it seems he just doesn't want that to happen. Also, he says flexing his chops on camera is a helluva lot better than any other day job he could pick up right now.

The guy's a true legend in his field -- with more than 203 acting credits, an Emmy and, of course, his Best Supporting Academy Award for "An Officer and a Gentleman." And still, there's no sign of Louis slowing down.

Scott Disick's had it with Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's steamy PDA pics, but his search for an ally went awry ... and now he just looks like a petty, jealous ex.

Younes Bendjima -- who dated Kourtney from 2016 to 2018 -- leaked a DM Scott appeared to have sent him ... ripping Kourtney for the slew of romantic pics of her and Travis Barker ... in particular the shot of Kourtney straddling Travis on a boat in Italy.

Scott allegedly wrote ... "Yo is this chick ok!??? Broo like what is this. In the middle of Italy."

Younes shared the screenshot and shot back, "Doesn't matter to me as long as she's happy." Bendjima added insult to injury, telling Disick ... "PS: i aint your bro."

Younes has residual beef with Scott, because along with putting him on blast for the DM gossip behind Kourtney's back, he added, "Keep the same energy you had about me publicly, privately."

But, Bendjima wasn't done with Disick ... "He been playing around for too long, tried to stay quiet and be the nice guy." This is clearly in response to some snide comments Scott made about him on the 'KUWTK' reunion a while back.

Despite Lord Disick's exchange with Younes backfiring, it shows that he's grown weary of all the paparazzi attention toward the mother of his kids as she's been jet-setting with the Blink-182 drummer.

Amadeu Campos Silva -- a promising young bull rider -- died after a "terrible accident" at an event in California on Sunday, the Professional Bull Riders announced. He was 22 years old.

Campos was riding a bull named Classic Man during the championship round of the PBR Velocity Tour in Fresno ... when he was bucked off after about 5 seconds.

As he went down, Campos' spur got stuck in his rope, which led to Classic Man stepping on his chest. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he sadly passed away.

Campos was born in Brazil ... and came to the U.S. after competing in PBR Brazil in 2017 and 2018 to pursue a World Championship.

He also competed in the PBR World Finals in 2020.

"Amadeu Campos Silva was a son, a brother, a soccer teammate, and a smiling presence in the locker room, here in the U.S. pursuing his bull-riding dream," Sean Gleason, PBR's CEO, said on Twitter.

"Amadeu was a rising star in our sport; a cowboy with so much potential on and off the dirt," Gleason added.

"The entire PBR and western sports family extend our thoughts, prayers, and heartfelt condolences to Amadeu's family and friends."

"Please say a prayer tonight for them, and may Amadeu's soul eternally rest in peace."

Here's a painfully dramatic picture ... the last U.S. soldier leaving war-torn Afghanistan following a 20-year battle that's, arguably, changed nothing in the country.

His name is Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps. His unit's based out of Fort Bragg, N.C. and on Monday he became the final soldier to board a C-17 cargo plane out of Kabul airport to officially end the U.S. mission.

The night vision image shows Chris carrying his firearm and a look of resignation as the pullout ended under cover of darkness.

According to the Pentagon ... this 20-year war saw more than 775,000 American troops serve and more than 2,400 of them were killed in combat. The departure of Donahue's unit officially brings an end to America's longest war, and meets the August 31 deadline.

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Sunday attended a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to honor the 13 U.S. troops killed during last week's terrorist attack in Kabul as their bodies arrived in caskets wrapped with U.S. flags. The President vowed to hunt down those responsible for the attack.

With the U.S. now out of Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over the entire country ... including Kabul airport. An L.A. Times reporter captured the moment Taliban fighters entered a Hangar at the airport to examine Chinook helicopters and other equipment.

P!nk seems quite concerned a teen influencer is being used by her parents in an unsettling way -- but the kid's speaking for herself, saying she is in the driver's seat here.

Piper Rockelle -- a YouTuber who just turned 14 -- tells TMZ ... "The first thing I want everyone to know is that my mom doesn't make me do anything. Quite the opposite, I'm a kid who had a dream and my mom is amazing enough to help me live it out."

She adds this of P!nk's worries ... "I don't think P!nk has ever seen one of my YouTube videos because if she did she'd see it's just my friends and me having fun and acting like ourselves. The content we make is the kind of stuff anyone can watch."

ICYMI ... P!nk took to social media over the weekend to address what she considered the over-sexualization of children -- and specifically name-dropped Piper to make her point. The singer seemed to take exception with a bikini photo posted to Piper's IG recently.

Piper touches on that too, telling us she rocked the bikini 'cause ... well, it's summer, adding she doesn't see anything sexual about a 14-year-old wearing a 2-piece in and of itself.

The YT'er told us she just did a crash course on P!nk, and learned she started following her dreams for stardom right around the same age Piper is now ... so, she questions why P!nk's giving her flak for doing the same thing.

Cam Newton is a Patriot no more ... New England has released the veteran QB in a shocking move.

The Pats announced the cut on Tuesday ... paving the way for rookie Mac Jones to be the starter in New England going forward.

Newton hasn't exactly lit it up for the Pats in his time under center -- he threw for just 2,657 yards and 8 TDs along with 10 interceptions in 15 games last season.

And, his preseason work this summer wasn't exactly inspiring either.

Still, Cam inked a 1-year, $5.1 million contract this offseason to play for the Pats ... and all indications were he would begin the season as QB1 in New England.

As for what's next for the Pats now, it's clear Bill Belichick is ready to ride with Jones -- the former Alabama superstar who the team drafted with the #15 overall pick in the spring.

Jones had a very good preseason -- throwing no interceptions and completing 36 of his 52 pass attempts in three games.

It's unclear, meanwhile, if Newton will find much interest from NFL teams now that he's a free agent.

Matthew Mindler's mom says he struggled with severe anxiety issues for years, and yet ... prior to his suicide, she says he seemed to be enjoying his 1st week of college.

The late child actor's mother, Monica Mindler, tells TMZ ... Matthew moved into Millersville University on Aug. 19, and things seemed to be going very well, until he disappeared.

Matthew's mom says he kept in constant contact with her during his first few days on the Pennsylvania campus, and he was busy. Monica says her son told her he met with an advisor about starting a campus computer/programming club, had an upcoming job interview with the IT department and was making friends.

As we reported ... Matthew, who starred in "Our Idiot Brother," never returned to his dorm room Tuesday night, was reported missing Wednesday, and found dead Saturday near campus. The coroner says he died by suicide.

Matthew's mom says their last text message exchange was Tuesday night, when she told him she was planning to pick him up Friday to spend the weekend at home. She wanted him to come home and relax for a few days, knowing he struggles with "crippling anxiety."

Monica tells us she texted him Wednesday morning, but didn't get a response -- her messages went through as texts instead of iMessages, suggesting his phone was off or in a bad service area.

Monica says she later contacted Matthew's dorm at MU for a wellness check, and got in touch with his roommate Wednesday evening, but she was told no one had seen her son and people at school were concerned.

By Thursday, Matthew's mom still hadn't heard from him and she drove to campus and got the police involved.

The U.S. Marine who got relieved of his duties for criticizing the U.S. Afghanistan pull-out is beating his bosses to the punch by quitting -- but not before going off about a psych evaluation he says he was asked to undergo, and lots more.

Lt. Colonel Stuart Scheller is getting his feelings out on social media after his dramatic announcement -- that he'd been disciplined for speaking out on the way the U.S. handled the withdrawal.

In a new YouTube vid he said he'd actually be resigning, and turning down a lucrative retirement he's owed to avoid being silenced -- but he also pointed out this was far from dishonorable as some might suggest. He dared superiors to ask anyone he served with about about his rep in battle.

While Scheller repeatedly says he's not considering legal action just yet ... it sure sounds like he might be soon, because he ominously warns this is far from over.

Then on FB, he addressed another issue Monday ... claiming his commanding officer asked him to get a mental health checkup, because they were apparently worried about his first video last week.

Scheller says he gets why that request was made, but he feels reducing behavior like this to a PTSD claim is perhaps the biggest disservice the U.S. military can do to any of its members.

He goes on to say all he wanted from leadership was accountability and a confession that the mission was botched -- but because of what he characterizes as a system of silence and following orders no matter what, he didn't get that ... so he's exiting on his own terms.