TMZ.com Home

Phylicia Rashad was strangely thrust into a conversation about Bill Cosby and his so-called "enablers" -- which the Internet was NOT putting up with ... especially on Mother's Day.

Twitter was celebrating their favorite TV moms Sunday, and Phylicia was right up there near the top of the list ... with many remembering and paying tribute to her starring role on "The Cosby Show" as Cliff's wife, Clair Huxtable. That is, until someone took the convo left.

A lady who goes by Lisa Talmadge rained on everyone's parade, tweeting a bizarre claim, and didn't even use Phylicia's proper name in making it ... or her TV character's name for that matter.

She wrote, "Claire Huxtable was an enabler of the longest and most prolific drug rape predator In US history, Bill Cosby. Everyone on set knew he was a sadistic predator. Everyone. 75 women drugged and raped by Cosby and he got away with it because of enablers."

For starters, it's CLAIR Huxtable. Second, Mrs. Huxtable is not a real person (she's fictional and only exists in the show). More importantly -- and as Twitter users furiously noted in response -- Phylicia isn't responsible for what Cosby was accused of, or convicted over.

As countless people pointed out, Phylicia wasn't his boss on the set ... if anything, she was more of an employee of his, and a co-worker -- nothing more. To suggest she knew what was going on behind the scenes -- something she herself has already denied -- is absurd.

Now, for the record, Phylicia has come to Cosby's defense ... most memorably in 2015 when the sexual assault allegations against him resurfaced, which she brushed off at the time as a group of people trying to tarnish the man's legacy, and a conviction of guilt in the media.

After Cosby was convicted of assaulting Andrea Constand and incarcerated over it ... Phylicia has somewhat softened her stance, but she still seems to equivocate at times. Bigger picture though ... she's supported "The Cosby Show" and has asked folks to compartmentalize.

It's Mother's Day again -- and if you thought Hollywood would skip a beat due to COVID, you're wrong ... because they laid it on thick for mama bear, just like years past.

Scores of celebs made sure to shout out that special lady in their lives on Sunday, posting heartfelt tributes for their moms ... while also posing for shots with them too. This year feels especially poignant, as we're finally turning a corner in the pandemic and are going strong.

Among the stars who shared the love ... Reese Witherspoon, Priyanka Chopra, DJ Khaled, Ellen DeGeneres, Michael Strahan, Lenny Kravitz, Gene Simmons, Drake, Usher, Usain Bolt, Jimmy Fallon, J Lo, Ryan Seacrest, Matthew McConaughey, Addison Rae, Mark Ruffalo, Amy Schumer, Elle Fanning, Sammy Hagar, Vince Neil, Lea Michele ... and VP Kamala Harris.

One post that was notably meaningful was Ryan Dorsey's ... who made sure to remember Naya Rivera, his late ex-wife and the mother of his own child, Josey, who died last year.

He wrote, "🖤❤️🖤We can’t say the word happy but we’ll say thank you for being a mother & giving me this sweet amazing boy.🖤❤️🖤#mothersday." Ryan threw up a photo of Naya and Josey sitting at a booth with what looks to be some ice cream in front of them.

As you know ... Naya drowned last year at Lake Piru in Ventura County, after taking Josey out on a boat ride, but somehow getting sucked under the water when trying to re-board.

Elon Musk took a hard left turn from comedy as he hosted 'SNL' Saturday night ... announcing he has Asperger's.

He made the announcement at the beginning of his monologue, speaking in a monotone voice. Musk revealed he's the first "Saturday Night Live" host with Asperger Syndrome.

However, Dan Aykroyd, a former 'SNL' cast member, also has Asperger’s and hosted the show in 2003.

Asperger Syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It manifests itself with major difficulties in engaging in social interactions and nonverbal communication. It is characterized as an autism spectrum disorder. It does not affect one's intelligence or language abilities. People with autism can experience physical and communication difficulties.

Elon was funny ... he seemed relaxed and was super self-deprecating. He joked about how he smoked a joint on Joe Rogan's podcast and now everyone thinks he's a pothead.

He also told an O.J. Simpson joke ... that O.J. too had hosted twice "and he killed it."

Elon, who's 49, brought his mom, Maye Musk, on stage for a sweet moment that was also kinda funny.

Taylor Swift is once again seeping into places you never thought you'd see her -- like on an AP history exam for high school students ... which is exactly what happened this week.

The pop star cameoed on the College Board's AP U.S. Government and Politics test administered to AP Government students this past Monday ... with one of the free-response questions asking about her 2018 political post that touched on the midterm elections.

Unclear how exactly the question was phrased -- you can't really whip your phone out in those types of settings to snap a shot -- but word is that it had something to do with analyzing how voter registration laws affect civic participation ... like voter turnout.

You'll recall ... TS tried getting out the vote back then by encouraging people to vote against then-U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, and instead getting behind the Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen in the race for the open U.S. Senate seat in Tennessee by Bob Corker.

She talked about how she hardly ever waded into politics, etc. ... and then dropped a link to Vote.org. BTW, her advocacy didn't really work -- Blackburn won that race in the end.

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was allegedly juiced up when he won the race, because he apparently tested positive for steroids.

The legendary Bob Baffert, the horse's trainer, broke the news Sunday that the test results showed the presence of corticosteroid Betamethasone. It's kinda technical, but the sample came back positive for 21 picograms of the drug. It's used as an anti-inflammatory.

This means the horse could be disqualified. BTW ... Medina Spirit is the only horse in the race to test positive.

Baffert denies doing anything wrong ... "I don't know what's going on, but there's something that is not right.” It's not official till the split sample comes. Usually, we wait for that, but I wanted to get in front of it."

Facts are facts, and this would be Baffert's 5th medication violation since May, 2020.

The good news for bettors ... they won't have to give their money back. The bad news for Baffert, the trainer and the jockey ... they'll have to return their winnings if their appeal fails.

If Medina Spirit is stripped of the win, it'd be the first DQ since 1968, when Dancer's Image won but was later disqualified for an anti-inflammatory drug.

Bill and Melinda Gates kinda shocked the world this week with their divorce, and Trump continues to be muzzled on Facebook. So we gotta ask ...

The Vegas odds paid off this time, because debris from the Chinese Long March rocket conformed to the probability it would crash down on water.

Parts from the wayward booster landed in the Indian Ocean, pretty close to the Maldives.

It's good news because no one had any idea where the space junk would hit. It was out of control in space and the re-entry was, to say the least, dicey.

There's unconfirmed video that seems to show debris falling from the sky over the Dead Sea in Jordan.

The biggest piece of debris was about as big as a Mack truck, so it could have done serious damage if it landed in a populated area.

China's Manned Space Engineering Office claims most of the debris burned up during re-entry, but clearly not all of it did.

This is one of the biggest, uncontrolled objects from space ever to hit the Earth, and that includes meteors, folks!

China has been criticized for allowing a booster to just float around in space. There was no plan to safely bring it back to Earth.

Elon Musk did well for himself on 'SNL' Saturday night, but his appearance did NOT do well for Dogecoin ... because its value plunged during the show.

Fans of Dogecoin were banking on Musk's on-air explanation of the cryptocurrency to drive the price to $1. That would have been a huge jump because just before the show it was hovering around 70 cents.

The opposite happened ... its value plummeted to 47 cents at the beginning of the show, and then partially recovered by bouncing back to 55 cents at around 2 AM ET.

At the time of this post, Dogecoin is down more than 37%.

The trading platform Robinhood seemed to panic, saying, "We’re currently experiencing issues with crypto trading. We're working to resolve this as soon as possible."

Musk talked about Dogecoin on the "Weekend Update" segment, playing a dude named Lloyd Ostertag who tried to explain to Michael Che and Colin Jost what exactly Dogecoin is, finally coming to the conclusion that didn't do it any favors.

Elon's been a fan of Dogecoin for a while now. We got him out in February when he gave some words of wisdom about investing and caution.

Bill Gates is arguably the world's most eligible bachelor now that he's divorcing his wife, Melinda, and Tinder's got a message for any potential catfishers ... don't swim in this dating pool!!!

The online dating platform is making sure folks who are looking for love don't fall hook, line and sinker for a Bill Gates impersonator ... telling us they've got some serious tools to make sure anyone's plan to pose as Bill will fail.

As for the big safeguard ... in order to verify a Tinder profile, users must scan their mug with facial recognition software to make sure a user matches his or her uploaded profile pics. Someone posing as Bill would almost certainly be busted.

Profiles are also reviewed and scanned for any oddities before going live ... and if someone does make it through the system, other users can flag it to Tinder employees for a closer look and for further verification.

A rep for Tinder tells us they do not yet have information available on how many fake Bill profiles have tried to launch since Melinda filed for divorce.

Now, if you're trying to get with Bill ... you might be better off sending a direct message on social media, instead of swiping through Tinder ... but you'll have to get in line, because lots of folks are sliding into Bill's DMs.

As we reported ... Bill's been lining his estranged wife's pockets with billions in stock ever since they announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage, so Melinda Gates is quite the eligible bachelorette as well.

Folks are shooting their shot with Melinda as well, but as with Bill, Tinder won't be letting any fake Melinda profiles fly.

Trey Songz allegedly had a little road rage and took it out on a woman's car and her hand ... so she tells cops.

According to law enforcement sources ... the singer and the woman got into an argument while they were each in their cars Thursday ... shortly after midnight.

We're told the argument escalated, and the woman reported to cops at some point Trey bumped his car into hers ... so she got out to confront him.

The woman claims that's when Songz sped off and hit her hand with his vehicle. She called the police, but when they arrived she says Trey was long gone. Cops took a hit-and-run report.

According to our sources ... the woman complained of hand pain but refused medical attention. It's unclear what she and Songz were arguing about, but there's no indication the 2 have a prior relationship. We're told the incident's being investigated.

A source close to Trey's camp tells us the woman's allegations are false.

This is just the latest legal hot water Trey finds himself in. As we first told you, he got sued last week for allegedly punching a bartender working at a Cardi B concert back in 2019.

Everybody loves Patricia Heaton's good looks!

Here is a 40-year-old version of the TV mom giving herself a hand during a press tour in Pasadena back in 1998 (left). Prior to this Heaton had already starred in several memorable films such as "Beethoven" and "Space Jam" and she had begun her leading role as the mom Debra Barone in "Everybody Loves Raymond."

And, 23 years later ... The talented star -- and real-life mother-of-four -- was recently seen snapping selfies on Instagram, showing off her sweet smile (right). The Emmy-winning actress went on to star in a number of other projects including, "The Middle," "Moms' Night Out," and "Carol's Second Act."

Woah, Mama!

The question is ...

A signed Tom Brady card PACKED with diamonds was just pulled out of a wild box break this week ... and it's got everyone wondering -- is this the greatest TB12 card ever!?

The piece came from a 2020 Flawless NFL box ... and it's absolutely insane -- with some experts putting a conservative resale price tag of $250,000 on it!!

The card -- a 1-of-1 -- features an image of Brady, the Super Bowl XXXVIII logo, Brady's signature and inscription ... plus over two dozen REAL diamonds!!

It was all pulled thanks to Bryan from Ultimate Box Breaks ... who purchased the $6,000 Panini America box this week and split it 32 ways between collectors.

Bryan tells TMZ Sports some of his followers/card enthusiasts agreed to buy in for around $160 -- and each one was then assigned 1 of the 32 NFL teams.

The deal was simple ... whatever team the player's card was on -- that collector would get the item.

Turns out, the guy who had the Patriots scored BIG TIME -- 'cause Bryan tells us the dude is just a regular Joe who so happens to be a huge New England and Brady fan!

As for his plans for the card now, Bryan says it's unclear whether the guy will sell it or hold it ... but it is clear the card could be worth a small fortune nonetheless.

Remember, Tom's rare cards ALWAYS resale for big numbers ... in fact, one of his rookie pieces just netted $1.72 MILLION at an auction last month.

It might be all about moms this weekend, but these celebs love showing off the small stars in their lives that made them mamas in the first place!

Padma Lakshmi, Chrissy Teigen, and Tia Mowry are just a few stars to name that have shared some of their matching moments with the kiddos ... they're passing down style tips to their little ones and now we're sharing all the cute pics with you!

See stars such as Eva Longoria, Cardi B, Kourtney Kardashian, Jana Kramer, Cassie, Kylie Jenner and Gabrielle Union modeling with the next generation of famous faces!

Scroll through our gallery to see all the celeb mini-mes!

Saweetie did what a lot of street performers do in L.A. ... take centerstage on a makeshift platform, and ask for donations -- but it looks like this was just a way to plug her new song.

The rapper -- who's fresh off a very public breakup with Quavo -- was out at the Santa Monica Pier Friday ... where she put on an impromptu performance for anyone who was nearby. She did at least a couple songs ... "My Type" and her new single, "Fast (Motion)."

Saweetie didn't shy away from this either, BTW ... she posted a video of her performing herself, and her caption is very cheeky -- "rent was dueee 🤷🏽‍♀️ streetie in the streets catch me next time luhhh y’all 🤣🤣🤣 #fastmotion." On its face, it seems this was all intentional.

You can tell she was joking around ... because she had a little donation basket at the base of her feet, which read "Pretty Bitch Summer Donations." So yeah, a bit of viral marketing.

Of course, some people saw this and didn't get the gag ... taking jabs at Sawettie while also hyping up Quavo as the clear "winner" in their split. Folks are also playing on the false rumor that Quavo had repo'd a Bentley he gifted her ... saying things had gone downhill for her ever since they went separate ways. But, as we told you, that Bentley news was BS.

Keep in mind, Saweetie is a professional, signed artist ... and doesn't seem hard-pressed for cash at all. Her music is blowing up, she's been appearing in commercials of late, just dropped a new line of sunglasses ... and she's starting to break into TV roles too.

A woman and a toddler were reportedly shot in broad daylight just now in Times Square -- a random act of violence in which the suspected gunman still hasn't been caught.

Cops have swarmed the area and barricaded the streets, where they say gunfire erupted between West 44th Street and 7th Avenue around 2 PM PT. Law enforcement sources tell us one of the bullets struck the woman.

The child is also said to have been hit, but it's unclear where. In any case, both of them were rushed to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition ... so it seems they're gonna make it. We're also hearing that a third person may have also been shot in the chaos.

The most disconcerting part -- besides somebody trying to gun down a lady and a kid in the middle of the day -- is the fact that the person who did this has NOT been caught yet ... as we're told they're still on the loose as of now. That might explain why there's such a massive police presence right now ... presumably, they're scouring the streets for the shooter.

No word yet on a motive, but this appears to have happened out of nowhere ... which makes it all the more terrifying. People captured video of people running upon initial word that a shooting had taken place ... as well clips of the aftermath as cops stood by controlling the crowd and securing the scene. Another video -- taken from an Earth Cam towering above Times Square -- seems to show the exact moment the shots were fired, two of them.

Someone also appears to have snagged video of the moment the victims were rushed into an ambulance by EMTs. Witnesses reportedly say the toddler was bleeding, and the woman was crying. Based on this video, it also looks like some people were booted from the bus.

It's an awful way to help people get ready for the re-opening of Broadway and other NYC venues that have been shuttered during the pandemic. As if folks hadn't already been on edge, this news certainly won't help them feel any safer ... especially considering Times Square is one of the most visible and frequented areas in the city.

If this can happen there, it's not a good omen for what could happen else in NYC.