TMZ.com Home

R. Kelly has no shame ... he's making yet another plea to the judge to let him out of jail, but this time he claims he has proof he's vulnerable to COVID-19.

The disgraced singer's lawyer filed docs, obtained by TMZ, asking the judge to release his client pending his trial and claiming the Bureau of Prisons failed to disclose Kelly's medical tests from March showing he is "likely diabetic."

In docs, Kelly's lawyer also claims the singer has high cholesterol and high blood pressure ... further putting him in a vulnerable position if he contracts the deadly coronavirus while penned up at MCC Chicago.

The judge has not yet made a decision on whether to release Kelly. TMZ broke the story ... he swung and missed TWICE last month. During Kelly's first attempt, the judge denied him saying, among other things, the singer is a flight risk. Not long after, his team made a second attempt, but again, the judge said no dice.

The judge had previously expressed concern Kelly might intimidate witnesses if he's allowed out of jail. Kelly addresses that in the new docs, referring to one of his former girlfriends who used to visit him regularly in jail and correspond with him. He says during all those visits he was well aware she is one the Jane Doe victims in his case, and still never attempted to obstruct justice.

He doesn't name her, but our Kelly sources tell us he's talking about Azriel Clary, who's now working with the prosecution. Kelly says if he had tried to intimidate her, she would have reported him to prosecutors by now.

This husband will be on the couch for the rest of quarantine -- but this video of him ruining his wife's jigsaw puzzle right before she could add the final piece ... is pretty priceless.

Mr. Prankster (not his gov't name) was recording his wife as she prepared for her one shining moment -- sticking in the last piece after about 3 weeks hard labor on the puzzle.

The guy set it up perfectly, saying ... "and this is the final moment, she gets to put the final piece in ... or does she?" Then, with lightning-quick speed, he slid the whole puzzle off the table in one fell swoop. Even before it all crashed to the floor, his wife was going OFF!!!

He ran for cover in another room ... smart move, but then his wife threatened to get revenge by destroying his fishing rods.

Yep, this is where we are in lockdown life ... couples snapping over puzzles. Buckle up, folks.

Just because Beverly Hills voted to resume nose jobs and facelifts, doesn't mean plastic surgeons want to do them during a pandemic ... according to Dr. Terry Dubrow.

The "Botched" surgeon told us on "TMZ Live" Friday ... the city council's 4-1 vote this week to resume elective surgeries isn't sitting well with many of his fellow surgeons. He says they believe it's too soon, and still too risky.

Terry believes high demand from clientele tired of looking at their imperfect faces on Zoom calls will create some pressure for surgeons to take appointments. However, he says some are actually talking early retirement, rather than risking exposure to COVID-19 for someone to get a boob job.

Dr. Dubrow admits Bev Hills seems to be playing into a stereotype by deeming plastic surgery an essential activity at this point. He has a warning for anyone considering going under the knife right now. Definitely something to think about.

President Trump has found another group of "very good people" ... the gun-toting right-wing extremists who stormed the Michigan statehouse to protest coronavirus restrictions.

Trump is strongly supporting the heavily-armed protesters ... he says they are very good, very angry people who deserve a seat at the table with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Mind you, Michigan does not meet the very same federal guidelines for reopening that the President and his coronavirus task force announced last month.

Trump tweeted out his support of the rifle-clad protesters and tried to shift the onus on Whitmer, saying ... "The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire. These are very good people, but they are angry."

POTUS added ... "They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal."

The protesters are up in arms over the fact Gov. Whitmer extended the state's emergency stay-at-home order until the end of May.

Of course, Trump started the battle cry for the "liberation" of several states -- including Michigan -- just hours after he laid out the federal guidelines. He, at least, said reopening should be done slowly and smartly ... based on data.

That's apparently out the window.

Humans aren't the only ones getting super bored and going stir crazy in coronavirus quarantine ... wildlife expert Jeff Corwin says animals need mental stimulation too.

The famed biologist joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and told us how animals in captivity at zoos and aquariums are being affected by the lack of crowds, and what we can do to keep all our animal friends sane.

Jeff says the captive dolphins who are putting on shows in front of empty stands at a Japanese aquarium definitely know there's no oohing and aahing humans around, as do many of the animals in captivity at zoos and aquariums that have turned into ghost towns due to the pandemic.

It's pretty fascinating ... Jeff says zoos need to make sure their animals are mentally and environmentally stimulated, especially now that they are more alone than ever before with humans sheltering in place.

Jeff's got a few examples that really paint a picture ... gorillas slinging poop and polar bears with ice blocks.

Move over LeBron James ... while pro sports leagues are trying to figure out when they can return to action, some dolphins are way ahead of 'em.

These photos are from Hakkeijima Sea Paradise's special dolphin show Thursday in Yokohama, where they had zero spectators due to the coronavirus quarantine guidelines there.

Animal trainers still did their thing, though, with dolphins and a beluga whale putting on quite a show -- despite lacking a crowd of oohing and ahhing humans. Let's keep it real ... the animals are in it for the food.

The show wasn't just a dress rehearsal ... the aquarium videotaped the performance and aired it on the web for folks to watch safely from home.

Madonna has revealed -- via her "Quarantine Diary" -- that she's tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, and already has a bizarre plan for using them.

The Material Girl's known for posting some eccentric material on her Instagram, but she's kicked things up a notch during lockdown ... the latest being heading outside to "breathe in the COVID-19 air."

Yep, Madge says now that she knows she has the antibodies, she's going out for a drive and rolling down the windows. She included the hashtags #staysafe #staysane with her video post.

It's unclear exactly what M hopes to accomplish by sucking in virus air on her drive, but if she truly has antibodies it means she likely already had the coronavirus. Most scientists agree she should have some COVID-19 immunity, but it's unclear for how long.

Madonna's been doing her part in coronavirus relief efforts -- both by donating a million dollars and joining the REFORM Alliance in sending 100,000 surgical masks to jails and prisons.

She's throwing caution to the wind, though, with her own health.

Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallion's new track is providing more than listening pleasure -- it's immediately feeding people in need by inspiring others to give.

As we told you ... the 2 women are donating proceeds from Bey's remix of Meg's "Savage" to Bread of Life in Houston, a nonprofit that supplies food for families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The charity tells us the song's release is already paying dividends though -- it received donations from 500 new donors in the first 24 hours after the song's Wednesday debut!

We're told the money continues to come from the 'Savage' attention -- most donors give anywhere from $5 to $50 -- and it's all being used to stock up for the increased demand for food with so many millions out of work.

Bread of Life sets up a drive-thru pick up spot for families to get boxes of groceries loaded right into their trunk. The org makes sure to take coronavirus precautions too ... there's no physical contact between the families and the staff, and masks and gloves are required.

As for how Bread of Life was chosen by Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallion -- other than the Houston connection -- we're told Bey and her mom, Tina Knowles, have worked with the nonprofit in the past.

We're told the mother-daughter duo helped build an apartment complex for some folks in need who Bread of Life supports. Plus, Beyonce and the org's founder grew up in the same church.

There probably is a limit to what Pastor Tony Spell can get away with, but for now ... he's still collecting stimulus dough from parishioners while dodging jail.

The infamous leader of the Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana tells TMZ ... since April 19 when his "stimulus challenge" began, 205 people have given at least a portion of their stimulus checks to his church.

We're told this includes parishioners as well as outsiders who don't belong to Life Tabernacle. Spell would not reveal how much cash he's hauled in from these folks.

We did the math, out of curiosity, though, and if each donor gave the typical tithe of 10% of the max stimulus amount of $1,200 -- that's $24,600 for Tony. Granted, it could be less or a lot more. He seemed to be encouraging donors to give their full checks ... as he claims he did.

As we reported ... Spell's been urging folks to give their stimulus dough away to all evangelists who can't pass the offering plate during the pandemic shutdowns.

Of course, that doesn't really apply to Spell because he's not been abiding by the Governor's stay-at-home order. Not only is he still holding services where he can take offerings, but he's also disobeying a judge's order to home confinement due to his recent arrest.

Tony tells us that's not going to change this Sunday either ... he's planning on leading another church service. He says he had 800 people attend last week (though it looks like he added a zero based on video) and expects a bigger turnout this time.

Spell says he knows he's in direct contempt of the court when he leaves his house to go to his church, but adds ... "The Bible commands us to go."

However, Spell tells us he will not be participating in his church's protest of stay-at-home orders Saturday outside the Governor's mansion. He says, "I do not want federal agents to pick me up when I am off the premises of my property." For the record, it would be local cops, not feds ... but ya get his drift.

A Texas company claims it has a solution for COVID-19 ... a robot that can kill the virus ... feds, hospitals and universities are already buying in, and pro sports could be next.

Here's the deal ... San Antonio-based Xenex Disinfection Services claims they have perfected a $100,000 robot that can zap the deadly virus to death, and it's already being used by the Department of Defense, Mayo Clinic and prestigious universities, with more deep-pocketed clients waiting in the wings.

The so-called savior is dubbed the Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot ... and we're told it's already decontaminating workspaces at 10 U.S. military bases, LAPD's Skid Row station plus campuses at Stanford and USC.

Major sports leagues could soon jump on the futuristic bandwagon ... company honchos tell us franchises from the NBA and MLB are both looking to use the robot to kill germs at team facilities.

Here's how it works ... the robot uses a xenon lamp to generate bursts of high intensity, full germicidal spectrum UVC light -- more intense than sunlight -- to deactivate viruses, bacteria and spores. Different pathogens are susceptible to UVC light at different wavelengths.

The robot works alone ... we're told people and pets must be out of the room undergoing disinfection because too much UVC light is dangerous to the eyes -- it's kinda like staring at the sun.

Uncle Sam seems gung ho on the robot ... we're told the DoD is starting to “actively test the robot to decontaminate airplanes and research labs.”

Business is booming for Xenex ... we're told sales are up 600% over the same time last year, and they just sold a robot to someone who wants to disinfect a megayacht. Gyms and fitness centers are starting to make inquires too.

The robots are made in San Antonio, and we're told proud owners are even giving them names ... like Rosie, Ray, Sunny, Duncan, Tiger and Gronk!!!