TMZ.com Home

The NBA players are getting back to work ... and so is Kenny Smith.

The "Inside the NBA" co-host is returning to Atlanta right now to rejoin Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Ernie Johnson ... just days after walking off the set.

As we previously reported, an emotional Smith removed his mic and left the studio Wednesday -- live on TV -- in a show of solidarity with the NBA players who boycotted Wednesday's playoff games over the Jacob Blake shooting.

At the time, Smith said, "As a black man, as a former player ... I think its best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight."

Fast forward to Friday .... and Smith was at LAX, getting on a plane to fly back to work.

When asked if the walk-off was a spur of the moment decision, Kenny explained, "I don't know if it was spur of the moment. But, I think it didn't feel right to be there."

"I think it was a good time for me to join the march. I didn't want to just sit there and be a talking head. And, I thought it was important to make a statement that I wanted to participate in it instead of just talking about it."

Smith was also asked if he supported the players ending the "boycott" and resuming the playoffs.

"I support what the players are doing either way. I think the message is it shows a unified power," Smith said.

"I think we are in a really interesting time of eradicating the production and consumption of racism. So, now when you allow someone to say, 'Hey, I'm going to stop doing something that is not only enjoyable but is financially rewarding to a lot of people' shows the power of what the NBA can do and sports in general."

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, is out and about visiting cornfields and assessing damage from storms ... just days after reports claiming he's on his death bed.

The dictator held an ear of corn and spoke with officials Thursday following Typhoon Bavi hitting the South Hwanghae Province this week ... and the photos obviously fly in the face of claims he's in a coma.

Of course, it's hard to know what to believe when it comes to North Korea and KJU, so it's anyone's guess.

As we reported ... Chang Song-min -- a former aide to the late S. Korean President Kim Dae-jung -- told South Korean media Kim was in a coma and close to death based on intel he'd received.

This news came shortly after N. Korea's own National Intelligence Service said that Kim would be gradually transferring some authority to his younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, to "ease stress."

So, the coma theory could be plausible ... but it might also just be a bunch of corny nonsense.

Tom Brady says he'll look to his teammates to help him address social issues ... saying he'll "listen and learn" from their experiences to face them head-on.

TB12 was asked about the protests, boycotts and other actions taking place around the league and throughout the world of professional sports ... and Brady did his best to give the safest answer he possibly could.

Brady didn't offer his opinion on the Jacob Blake shooting -- nor did he reveal his personal feelings about superstars like LeBron James refusing to take the court for NBA playoff games this week.

Players around the league look to Brady as a leader and we know there are people looking to take their cues from him as the most high-profile athlete in football.

But so far, he's not really saying much.

Meanwhile, Drew Brees wore Jacob Blake's name on his helmet during practice this week in a show of support with his New Orleans Saints teammates.

Hell, even Cincinnati Bengals rookie QB Joe Burrow offered a strong opinion this week, saying, "How can you hear the pain Black people are going through and dismiss it as nothing?"

A Minneapolis cop is recovering after he was knocked down to the ground when an apparent looter threw a garbage can lid ... hitting the cop squarely in the neck.

The incident went down Wednesday night as people flooded the streets following a false report of a fatal police shooting of a Black man ... and just 3 months after George Floyd died there.

Check out the video -- which was broadcast on Facebook Live -- showing apparent looters making their way inside a Walgreens as a wave of others floods the streets. You see a cop calmly walking back to his patrol unit when, out of nowhere, a garbage can lid strikes him on his neck ... knocking him down. He radios for help and a couple cops show up to provide aid.

A police spokesperson said the cop suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The trouble started after false rumors quickly spread about cops fatally shooting a Black man. The Minneapolis PD tweeted -- and then deleted -- video they say shows a murder suspect turning the gun on himself as cops closed in on him. The tweet included, "No officer weapons were fired. This is a tragedy for our community that is still hurting."

The Minneapolis PD later tweeted and explained it like this, "[On Wednesday] MPD posted a video in order to dispel rumors that caused significant public safety concerns for our city. After receiving feedback from the community, we have removed the video due to the graphic nature and out of respect to the individual, his family and the community."

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that community activists quickly mobilized to spread word that this was NOT a police shooting and didn't warrant a protest. But, clearly few heeded to that message ... because 33 people were arrested.

Rand Paul was surrounded by a crowd of protesters shouting at him about the killing of Breonna Taylor ... which led to a tense scene as police escorted him away.

The Kentucky Senator and his wife, Kelley, were leaving the Republican National Convention Thursday night in D.C. when they were confronted by the large group ... who reminded him there's still been no justice for Breonna.

Demonstrators were peaceful as they yelled "Say her name" and "Her name is Breonna Taylor" at Paul, but at one point, an officer used his bicycle to ram a protester ... and the man retaliated by pushing back.

It was an incredibly tense moment, but it didn't escalate from there as Paul and his wife left safely -- but immediately after the incident, the Senator claimed he was attacked.

He tweeted ... "Just got attacked by an angry mob of over 100, one block away from the White House. Thank you to @DCPoliceDept for literally saving our lives from a crazed mob."

Speaking of attacked ... Breonna was shot and killed by Louisville police in her own home back in March. There have still been no arrests.

Jacob Blake's dad says he spoke to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for a full hour and he found it comforting because it felt like he was talking to family.

Blake's father, who's also named Jacob, says he and Blake's mother's were nervous at first to talk with the Democrats' Presidential ticket ... but says Biden and Harris calmed them down. The elder Jacob said, "I don't think people understand the worry of a mother. That's her baby."

He revealed how the conversation went down Friday morning on CNN's "New Day" ... saying it felt "like I was speaking to my uncle and one of my sisters -- literally, literally." Jacob's father added, "It felt like they knew what was going on. And, they didn't act like they were in a hurry to go anywhere. They spent time with us."

When asked if President Trump has reached out, Jacob said, "That's a negative." Trump also never mentioned Jacob Blake's name during his RNC nomination acceptance speech.

Jacob's father, who referred to Biden and Harris as President and Vice President, also touched on his son's leg being shackled to his hospital bed.

As we reported ... Blake's dad was furious after finding out his son was handcuffed to his hospital bed during a Wednesday visit. He questioned why that was even necessary since Jacob's paralyzed from the waist down after taking 7 shots to the back from a cop. Jacob's father said his son asked, "Why did they shoot me so many times?"

Jacob's dad pointed out ... "He can't go anywhere. Why do you have him cuffed to the bed?"

New mom Katy Perry's got sushi-on-the-brain now, but she effectively booted it from her diet during her pregnancy by adding a few new faves to her takeout orders.

KP called on the good folks at Postmates 25 times while she was carrying Daisy Dove and almost half of those orders included some sort of salad. Baby needed her greens, and got plenty.

Postmates is dropping the deets on Katy's orders for its blog series The Receipt ... and we got a preview, which was glaring for what it did NOT include. Her soft spot for sushi is no secret -- in fact, the delivery app says she ordered a massive sushi meal from Katsuya in Hollywood months before the big announcement.

However, she quit sushi cold turkey in March when she announced she was pregnant. Y'know, the whole risk of mercury and bacteria makes it a major no-no for the expectant mother.

Katy didn't just ease up on raw fish, she also swapped out coffee. King's Road Cafe lattes are her most ordered item, but she had a newfound love for strawberry banana smoothies during pregnancy.

As for her sweet-tooth cravings -- Katy's top urge was for Pinkberry. Her go-to frozen yogurt -- a small original with two servings of Fruity Pebbles and Milk Chocolate Crunch. Yum!!!

Make no mistake, though -- now that Katy and Orlando's little girl is here, Mama's already said she's got her heart set on ... "All of the sashimi!!!"

Rayshard Brooks' widow can't be more thankful for LeBron James and the rest of the NBA taking a stand with their boycott ... and she's hopeful true change is on its way.

Tomika Miller tells TMZ ... she beamed with pride after the Lakers and the rest of the NBA teams decided to boycott Wednesday's playoff games to bring attention to police brutality following the shooting of Jacob Blake and the 17-year-old who allegedly shot and killed 2 protesters in Kenosha, WI.

Tomika says there's a huge difference between her taking a stand at her workplace versus the NBA -- and several MLB, WNBA and MLS teams for that matter -- boycotting games. The size of the platform matters, and she says it brings a bigger spotlight on the plight of Black Americans.

Tomika said the players' actions let people like her know the "little people" are not forgotten by the privileged. As you know by now, Tomika's husband, Rayshard, was shot in the back and killed in June after cops found him asleep at the wheel at an Atlanta drive-thru.

When officers tried to handcuff him, a struggle ensued -- Brooks grabbed an officer's taser and ran before he was shot in the back 3 times. Making matters worse ... the family lawyer says cops waited more than 2 minutes to even check on Brooks once he was down.

Blake also was shot in the back ... 7 times at point-blank range by Kenosha, WI police officer Rusten Sheskey.

This is what it's like when reality dating show worlds collide -- a lot of scandal over nothing ... according to sources close to "Love is Blind" couple Damian Powers and Giannina Gibelli.

Fans of the show, along with fans of "Too Hot to Handle" star Francesca Farago, were a bit stunned when a scantily clad Francesca left a trendy L.A. restaurant Tuesday night while holding onto Damian's arm ... lots of folks thought he and Giannina were dunzo.

Turns out ... it's all still status quo. We're told Damian and Giannina are still together and still in love ... he and Francesca are just friends, and Giannina's cool with that.

Our sources say Damian and Francesca share the same lawyer and management team, and their Tuesday outing was actually with the lawyer ... along with a couple of Francesca's friends.

Fact is, it's pretty common for these reality TV stars to run in the same circles and mingle ... which is what went down Tuesday night.

As "Love is Blind" followers know, Damian and Giannina were fan favorites but didn't end up getting hitched after D got cold feet. However, they reconciled right after the show and have been solid ever since.

One of Floyd Mayweather's top business associates is so outraged over the recent police shootings, he wrote up a new police reform proposal in the hopes of fixing the system.

Brent Johnson is the CEO of One Entertainment -- and handles international business deals for Floyd Mayweather. He also has a law degree.

Johnson has drawn up a 6 point document titled, "Amendment Proposal for American Police Policy Reform" which lays out his plan.

AMENDMENT 1 – Zero Tolerance for Racial Bias and Violence Against Minorities (5-5-5 Plan)

Any officer who has 5 confirmed incidents involving racial bias within a 5-year period will be hit with a nationwide ban on employment in law enforcement, in any capacity, across the country.

AMENDMENT 2 – Racial Representation In The Police Population (The 70% Rule)

Illinois internet sensation Keenan Cahill was only 15 years old when he became a viral sensation for his one-of-a-kind lip sync skills to iconic songs like "Party In The USA," "Bad Romance," "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love Again" and even "Don't Stop Believin'."

While Keenan Cahill was already getting millions of views to his YouTube channel ... it was his surprise collaboration with 50 Cent on "Down On Me" that launched him to the next level and opened the door for a bunch more famous guest appearances including Pauly D, David Guetta, Nick Cannon, Lil John and many more!

The 17-year-old arrested in the fatal shooting of 2 Jacob Blake protesters in Kenosha allegedly killed at least one unarmed man, and could get life in prison for murder ... along with 4 other felony charges.

The criminal complaint against Kyle Rittenhouse was released Thursday, and it says the first person the Illinois teenager allegedly shot, Joseph Rosenbaum, "appeared to be unarmed for the duration of video" reviewed by investigators.

Prosecutors say Rosenbaum appeared to throw an object at Rittenhouse before the fatal shooting, and a second video apparently shows the object in question was nothing more than a plastic bag.

The complaint also says Rosenbaum leaned in toward Rittenhouse -- apparently trying to reach for his gun according to a witness -- and then fell to the ground after 4 loud bangs. Then Rittenhouse got on his cellphone to make a call, and prosecutors say he was overheard saying, "I just killed somebody" as he ran away. He's been charged with first-degree reckless homicide for Rosenbaum's death.

Rittenhouse is also charged with first-degree intentional homicide (murder in most states) of Anthony Huber. Prosecutors say Huber -- seen with a skateboard in several videos -- approached Rittenhouse, who was lying on his back, and appeared to reach for Rittenhouse's gun. According to the complaint, Rittenhouse fired a round, sending Huber staggering away before collapsing to the ground and dying from a gunshot wound.

All told, prosecutors charged Rittenhouse with 5 felonies -- the 3 others are 2 counts of first-degree reckless endangerment and one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide.

That last count was for allegedly shooting Gaige Grosskreutz, who prosecutors say appeared to be armed, and suffered one non-lethal gunshot wound.

Bradley Cooper's shaggy hair and garb sure give him that '70s Hollywood hotshot look ... and that's great 'cause it's the vibe he's going for.

The "A Star is Born" director looked like a spitting image of the hairdresser-turned-movie mogul Jon Peters on the set of director Paul Thomas Anderson's new flick. He looked every bit the part .... thanks to a spot-on wig, beard, flowing white shirt and bellbottoms. Gotta admire the seashell necklace too.

Anderson's new film -- working title, "Soggy Bottom" -- is set in the '70s when Peters dated one Barbra Streisand. There's an old pic of Peters and Streisand, and it's a mirror image of Bradley's getup.

Peters, of course, is a big deal ... producer of "A Star is Born" ... both the 1976 and 2018 versions. He's also produced "Flashdance," "The Color Purple," "Rain Man" and "Tango & Cash," to name just a few. BTW, Peters not long ago married Pamela Anderson. Never mind they split up 12 days later.

Anyway ... production did one helluva job transforming Bradley into Peters, that's for sure. Also, gotta give them props for adhering to strict COVID-19 guidelines.

Oh, one last thing ... an eagle-eyed photog snapped away when model/actress Brigitte Nielsen happened to be riding her bike with her pooch not far behind sitting in a wagon as Bradley took a break at a gas station. Her Jon Peters connection? Brigitte's ex, Sylvester Stallone, starred in "Tango & Cash." Full circle, baby.

The NHL is following the MLB, NBA, WNBA and MLS' lead ... with the league officially postponing games following the Jacob Blake shooting.

"After much discussion, NHL Players believe that the best course of action would be to take a step back and not play tonight’s and tomorrow’s games as scheduled," the league announced Thursday.

The decision comes after several players -- including Matt Dumba and Evander Kane -- criticized the league's response to the boycotts sweeping the sports world.

The NHL says they support the players' wishes ... and will make up the games starting Saturday.

NHL continued ... "Black and Brown communities continue to face real, painful experiences. The NHL and NHLPA recognize that much work remains to be done before we can play an appropriate role in a discussion centered on diversity, inclusion and social justice.

As we previously reported ... the NBA kickstarted a massive movement on Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks elected to stay in the locker rooms in protest ... and have since agreed to continue the season.

"We understand that the tragedies involving Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others require us to recognize this moment," the NHL added.

Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Fred and Daphne are in mourning ... 'Scooby-Doo' co-creator Joe Ruby has died.

The animation writer and TV executive who co-created the famous cartoon series "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" died Wednesday in Westlake Village, CA of natural causes ... according to his family.

Joe, along with his animation partner Ken Spears, worked wonders for Hanna-Barbera over the years ... the duo also created popular series "Dynomutt" and "Jabberjaw" but they're most famous for 'Scooby.'

The gang started solving mysteries when 'Scooby-Doo' first aired on CBS way back in 1969, with Joe and Ken writing the animated series' first 5 episodes, plus story editing and supervising for the rest of the inaugural series.

The OG 'Scooby-Doo' aired until 1976 and, as you know, it's given rise to tons of spin-off series, reboots and movies.

Joe, who also served in the Navy, got his start in the biz as an inbetweener with Walt Disney Productions, then moved on to Hanna-Barbera Productions, where he met Ken.

Once 'Scooby-Doo' became TV gold, Joe and Ken were hired to oversee Saturday morning cartoons on CBS. They eventually left for ABC, and in 1977 set up their own studio, Ruby-Spears Productions, producing series like "Mister T," "Superman" and "Alvin and The Chipmunks."

Joe also worked as an executive producer on animated adaptions of live-action movies and TV shows, including "Police Academy: The Animated Series," "Rambo" and "Punky Brewster."

Ruby is survived by his wife, Carole, and their 4 children and 10 grandchildren.

He was 87.