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Trouble on the waterfront in Ohio -- a couple of fishermen have been accused of cheating to make their catches seem heavier than they were ... and the video proof is damning.

Chase Cominsky and Jake Runyon -- both locals -- were apparently caught stuffing their walleye with weights and other debris ... with things coming to a head on Friday as their fish were being weighed, and then cut open to expose the truth on Lake Erie.

As you can see, tourney officials started pulling out these little metal balls from the insides of the fish that Cominsky and Runyon had up for consideration -- some are saying they're made of lead, but in any case ... they seem to have been jammed in for extra poundage.

There are also slices of what some claim are fish fillets -- in other words, these guys are alleged to have cut pieces of other fish and stuffed them inside as well, clandestinely.

Some outlets are reporting that these two fellas were actually the frontrunners of this tournament -- dubbed the Lake Erie Walleye Trail in Cleveland's Gordon Park -- but that obviously came to a screeching halt when everyone caught wind of what had happened.

You can hear the utter outrage from people on the ground ... they were screaming at these guys, demanding answers and even threatening to call the police. Runyon was asked on camera if he had anything to say for himself -- but he stayed silent and just looked on.

There are reports of the fisherman going on to win other contests in and around the area -- and now, all of the accolades (and prize money) they've racked up are coming into question.

The official event page on FB had a harsh statement, calling out these gentlemen as straight-up cheaters. They write, "Disgusted guys and gals, I’m sorry for letting you down for so long and I’m glad I caught cheating taking place in YOUR LEWT at the same time."

North West takes after her father (and her mother) in the fashion department -- especially when it comes to headwear ... just take a look at this.

The 9-year-old is in Paris right now, and she was photographed Saturday heading into a hotel with a handler/escort of some sort as paps and onlookers flanked her on both sides.

She definitely made a statement ... rocking a full head-covering leather face mask with accompanying hair extensions running down her back. Footwear-wise ... bedazzled Crocs?

Our sources tell us NW was with her mama in this instance, although Kim is not seen in any of the photos here. Interestingly enough, Ye is also in Paris at the moment ... but it doesn't look like he was tagging along in this particular outing.

It's pretty on-brand for West-Kardashian household ... both Kim and Kanye have famously hid their entire heads under garments in the recent past -- especially Ye, who's done it time and again in the past few years.

In fact, Kanye has worn full face masks at least a couple times in Paris -- earlier this year when he went with Julia Fox for a winter Fashion Week, and last year as well for a Balenciaga event. Of course, he's worn a lot of them here in the States as well ... be it at concerts of his, or just hitting the town. He doesn't seem to like to show his mug much.

Kim has also been getting into full headgear lately -- but definitely not on Kanye's level. Still, she made a splash last year during the Met Gala ... first rocking a full-blown leather getup right before the event, and of course -- showing up looking like a shadow on the red carpet.

It's that time of the year again -- when everyone makes jokes about Billie Joe Armstrong ... and he's totally in on it, despite how difficult of a time this is in reality.

The Green Day frontman tried to get ahead of all the memes and posts that inevitably were posted anyway -- taking to the GD Instagram account to throw up a photo of himself floating on a giant rubber ducky with a drink in hand.

His caption is pretty simple ... "GOOD MORNING. YOU’RE WELCOME." BJA noted that he's in Singapore right now, and it seems he's on a bit of vacay -- which is also telling.

What we're talking about, of course, is his band's famous song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" ... and all the cracks that are online right now, making fun of the fact that Billie must be rising from his month-long slumber on October 1st.

It's all in good fun -- at least on the surface anyway. The problem, though, is that there's a bit of a dark origin story to that classic ditty ... and it has to do with Billie's father and him passing away when he was a young boy, back in September of '82 to be exact.

This is well-chronicled ... as BJA has gone on record many times over the years to explain this, noting that the song is about him dealing with a hard time in his life and having to process the death anniversary of his father -- which he did through this song.

Seems like most people are simply unaware of this hard truth -- which is fine, but going forward -- folks should probably chill on the Billie jokes every October 1st ... 'cause like we said, it's actually a sore subject for the guy. Although he's clowning around here, it's gotta be tough.

Elon Musk might need to step it up in Tesla robotics department -- because his signature droid doesn't hold a candle to the ones from Boston Dynamics ... so says Twitter anyway.

The CEO was on hand Friday as his company unveiled some new toys as part of their AI Day -- including a self-controlled humanoid bot that they call Optimus ... which actually trotted itself out on stage and moved around a bit in front of a (mostly less-than-impressed) crowd.

For starters, this thing walked very slowly and gingerly ... and did a little examination of his five-fingered hands, plus a wave, before walking back at tortoise-like speed. It also didn't look all that aesthetically pleasing. EM said this was the first time Optimus had walked alone without a tether, so they were taking it easy ... as he didn't want it to "fall on its face." Oof.

He went on to claim Optimus is capable of doing fairly complex tasks (even now) that humans will eventually be able to ask for on-demand on the market -- but much of Tech Twitter wasn't buying it ... especially as a bunch of BD videos popped up in comparison.

The reason ... Boston Dynamics' bots -- especially Atlas -- are VERY advanced, and can apparently do a heck of a lot more than what Elon's creation can at this point. Their videos often go viral, particularly when they do complex dance routines and backflips, etc.

Aside from the mocking, there was genuine disappointment in Elon's demonstration ... with many saying he should've just waited until he had something more flashy to show.

Antonio Brown appears to have exposed himself to a woman in Dubai -- this according to video taken during the Spring.

The New York Post obtained footage of Brown that they say was shot in May of this year, when he was the Armani Hotel Dubai ... and getting handsy with a fellow swimmer in the pool. It's a woman, and in the clip -- AB shoves his bare ass in her face twice.

He looks to be completely naked in the water, which makes the incident all the more disturbing. Brown is fooling around with the lady, and even lifts her up and dunks her.

Eventually, she swims away -- this while some men off-camera egg him on -- and from a distance ... Brown lifts his penis out of the pool to flash her. The Post cites witnesses, claiming the woman was angry after this ... and even went in to complain about him.

Unclear what, if anything, came from it ... this apparently happened several months ago. At any rate, there's a lot of backlash online right now ... aimed at AB, of course.

Some hot new celeb relationships are bubbling to the surface, and how 'bout the Super Bowl halftime show!!! So we gotta ask ...

When "MJ: The Musical" meets "The Producers" ... you get a little something like this.

John Branca -- one of the guys behind Broadway's biggest spectacle right now -- went backstage Friday night with his wife, Jenna, to meet the show's lead star ... Myles Frost, who plays Michael. They had a cool little photo-op moment together -- flashing smiles and looking sharp.

'MJ' has been playing since earlier this February -- after a lot of delays, due to COVID -- and so far ... it's a smash hit. Not only has it been commercially successful, but it has sat well with critics too ... even snagging a handful of Tonys this year, including for Frost.

He won Best Actor in a Musical -- and 'MJ' has won some technical Tonys too, such as Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design. It's about Mike's real-life 1992 Dangerous tour, and the show gives a BTS glimpse at some of his imagined rehearsals.

Of course, it also covers a ton of MJ hits along the way ... with his signature dance numbers to boot. There was controversy around this at first, but most of that seems to have fallen by the wayside, especially this many months into a long and consistent run.

Roy Wood Jr. could soon get a serious promotion over at Comedy Central ... we're told he's in the running to take over for Trevor Noah as the next host on "The Daily Show."

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ that Comedy Central executives view Roy as someone who could potentially become the next face of 'TDS' ... for several reasons.

Roy joined the show in 2015, the same year Trevor took over for Jon Stewart as host, and he's since become one of the show's most recognizable faces, not to mention one of their leading correspondents.

With that in mind, we're told CC execs view Roy as a natural fit to be promoted to host ... and there's precedent, as the show promoted from within when Trevor took the reins from Jon.

Our sources say Roy's contract is also coming up for renewal, and CC execs are anxious he may leave the show because Roy is in demand on the stand-up circuit and he's also gaining popularity from recent outside projects like "Confess, Fletch."

We're told CC wants to make sure Roy stays with the network, and promoting him to host could be the best way to keep him around.

Our sources say CC execs have made it clear to Roy they want to meet with him to discuss his future as his contract renewal looms ... but he's NOT been personally told he's even a candidate to replace Trevor.

The process of picking a successor, we're told, is in the infancy stage ... and there's talk the next host could well be a woman. Again, we're told no decisions have been made.

As we reported ... Trevor announced he was leaving the show on Thursday night's episode, with a CC source telling us TN felt the daily show was too much of a grind after 7 years at the helm.

It's interesting ... Trevor mentioned Roy by name at the opening of his farewell speech, saying Roy reminded him the other day Noah's 7-year anniversary was fast approaching.

Trailblazing professional wrestler Antonio Inoki, who famously fought Muhammad Ali in a mixed-rules match, reportedly died Saturday at his home in his native Japan.

Inoki died of apparent heart failure after battling illnesses for years and being confined to a wheelchair. No official cause of death has been released.

Inoki -- a legend in Japan -- shot to fame in 1976 when he got into the ring with Ali at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo. The sold-out fight was shown on a Jumbotron to 32,897 spectators at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York. Inoki badly injured Ali during the 15-round bout, getting in more than 100 kicks to the fabled boxer's legs. Their fight ended in a draw.

Capitalizing on his newfound popularity, Inoki would become the most influential pro wrestler in Japan's history. In 1972, he launched the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Company, promoting some of the biggest matches involving Hulk Hogan, Dory Funk Jr., Big Van Vader and Bruiser Brody. Inoki also pinned Ric Flair in a 1995 match and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.

What's more ... Inoki was a storied politician who successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of Japanese hostages before the 1990 Gulf War in Iraq. And, he worked with North Korea to stop the kidnappings of Japanese citizens in Pyongyang during the Cold War.

Inoki was 79.

Bill Maher made a pretty compelling case that lots of rules against consensual sex in the workplace are not only ridiculous ... they're harmful.

The "Real Time" host challenged companies that require immediate notification if 2 employees are banging and prohibit sexual relationships between supervisors and their subordinates.

He concedes, if there's a workplace relationship between a superior and a subordinate, it should be watched ... but not banned.

As Bill says, work is where most people spend most of their waking hours, and that's also where they get to know people ... and sometimes they catch feelings and even fall in love.

He ticks off a list of people who have been fired for their consensual relationships. He points to former CNN honcho Jeff Zucker, who was fired for having a consensual relationship with a 49-year-old CNN executive -- as if the company needed to tell the 49-year-old exec it wasn't right because of a power imbalance, even though she didn't think it was a problem.

How 'bout this point he raises ... if these rules were in place back in the day, Barack and Michelle Obama wouldn't be married. He was a summer associate at a law firm and she was his supervisor.  Bill says she was literally banging the intern, and good for them!

He point out the hypocrisy ... Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde hooked up during the shooting of "Don't Worry Darling," and when you shoot a movie a director is not only boss, she's God.

There are reports Trevor Noah and Dua Lipa are "just friends." Really?

Now that we know Trevor's plan to exit "The Daily Show," which he announced Thursday, it seems kinda weird he'd have dinner with a casual friend the night before ... there are things to discuss with your closest allies when stuff like that is about to go down.

Well, it's possible they're just friends ... hugging and kissing on the street as friends often do.

Trevor sent shock waves in the TV world with his announcement he's leaving the show that made him super famous in America. As we reported, he has a ton of projects in the works, both in front of and behind the cam, and a daily show may have proved too much of a grind.

Both are unattached ... Trevor is no longer dating Minka Kelly, and Dua has Anwar Hadid in her rear view.

Rihanna looked super glam Friday as she left her favorite joint in town!!!

RiRi was dripping in diamonds as she chowed down at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica.

It's her go-to when she's in L.A. Great restaurant and less of a scene than a lot of WeHo eateries.

We can't tell if she was with BF A$AP Rocky, but they've been in town lately at a recording studio, which brings us to ... THE SUPER BOWL!!!

TMZ broke the story ... Rihanna will be headlining the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show. We're told there's a long list of singers/rappers who might join her, but as of a few days ago no decisions were made. It's also possible, we're told, she could do it alone.

Coolio fans flocked to his website after his death to grab some merch ... and the response was so overwhelming, people were met with a big ol' "404 error."

The rapper's merch store was out of service as of Friday morning ... folks were unable to grab Coolio swag online -- instead seeing the message, "Page not found -- Somehow you have come to a page that does not exist."

Normally, a response like this would come up if the page were deleted, or because of heavy traffic. It looks like the latter is the culprit.

FYI -- the site normally has lots of great finds for Coolio fans ... stuff like fanny packs, mugs, hoodies and face masks.

Shaq ain't down to outspend Jeff Bezos for the Phoenix Suns ... but if the billionaire wants to join forces in an effort to own the NBA franchise -- The Big Diesel tells TMZ Sports he's in for that!

Shaq says he initially had interest in buying Robert Sarver's share of the org. after the disgraced owner announced last month he was putting it up for sale -- but when he found out Bezos potentially wanted in, he was all out.

Shaq explained even with his deep pockets -- he's reportedly got a net worth of around $400 MILLION -- he wanted no part in competing with Bezos' checkbook.

"Nobody on this planet can compete with Big Man JB," Shaq told us this week, before adding, "Because you know what? I just ordered 50 things off Amazon today. Big Man JB got that money coming in!"

But, if Bezos wanted Shaq's help -- and a little of his cash -- O'Neal says his ears are open.

"If he wants me on board, I would gladly like to talk to him," Shaq said.

"But," he continued, "as far as trying to own a whole team by myself, and go up against -- let me tell you something, I'm scared of Big Man JB. Shaq O'Neal is scared of Big Man JB!"

It's unclear if Bezos has real interest in the team -- and if he'd even consider being business partners with the NBA legend.

Remy Ma was in early talks to become the first rapper-turned-'Real Housewife,' but she ran into a major problem -- because as any realtor would tell her, it's all about location, location, location.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... 'RHONY' star Eboni K. Williams brought up Remy's name to casting several months ago for the Bravo reality series ... suggesting Remy would be a great addition to the show.

We're told the casting team had a virtual chat with Remy and the conversation went really well ... but they hit a huge roadblock when they found out the Bronx-born MC now lives in New Jersey full-time.

Our sources say the rapper used to have an apartment in midtown Manhattan, but she doesn't anymore. At the time she was recommended to casting it was still believed she had ties to NYC.

While the Bravo series is historically loose about the cast's "wife" status, they're pretty strict when it comes to geography -- so all convos with Remy about "Real Housewives of New York City" ended.

We're told well-known NYC newscaster, Tamsen Fadal, from the CW affiliate PIX11 was also being considered, but ultimately that didn't work out, either.

Bravo hasn't officially announced the new cast for season 14. As we reported in April, housewives honcho Andy Cohen announced the network is completely rebooting and recasting 'RHONY' after 13 seasons.