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Larsa Pippen is sticking to her story, insisting to Andy Cohen she and Michael Jordan's son are just friends ... even as he sat just a few feet away from her on Andy's show.

The reality star played coy to the max on Monday night on 'Watch What Happens Live' -- where Marcus Jordan was in the audience ... for moral support, we're sure. 😉

Of course, Andy tried to grill her, asking Larsa what her ex, NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, thinks about her dating his nemesis' son.

Larsa totally tried to downplay it, telling Andy she has no idea what Scottie thinks about it, and says they've never discussed Marcus.

While she understands why people might have questions -- their 17-year age gap and the fact Marcus was a kid when Scottie and MJ were Chicago Bulls teammates -- Larsa says their families were never tight.

As we've reported ... Marcus and Larsa have been hanging out in public since September, often showing PDA around Miami, and looking every bit like a couple. Hell, the guy even flew to NY with her for Andy's show!

Demetrius "Lil Meech" Flenory Jr. -- the lead star in 50 Cent's hit 'BMF' series -- learned the hard way it's a bad idea to stash a gun in your carry-on luggage.

Lil Meech landed in a bit of hot water at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Tuesday ... after we're told authorities found him with a gun.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Hip Hop Lil Meech was at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Tuesday when security discovered a firearm in his luggage. We're told deputies from the Broward Co. Sheriff's Office were called to the scene and arrested the actor.

As for the weapon, our sources say it was a Glock 19 9mm ... it wasn't loaded, but cops also found a 15-round magazine. Lil Meech did not have a carry permit.

Meech was transported and booked for introducing a firearm into the sterile area of the airport ... a felony. Apparently, the actor isn't alone in his mistake ... as we're told this was the 130th gun found at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood this year.

Jin, the oldest member of BTS, is officially an enlisted man -- the first singer from the international hitmakers to join the South Korean military under the country’s strict conscription laws.

30-year-old Jin reported to a training facility Tuesday in the Gyeonggi Province, close to the border with North Korea. Dozens of fans and journalists flocked to the area to catch a glimpse of the K-pop star as he entered the grounds.

His 5-week basic training course will include shooting a rifle and throwing grenades, according to the AP. Before Jin showed up at the training site, he posted a selfie, showing off his new buzz cut with a caption that read, "Cuter than expected."

As we reported ... BTS announced in October Jin would be the first of the seven-member boy band to serve in the South Korean military because he's the oldest. Jin is expected to complete his service by June 2024. Other BTS members -- ages 25 to 30 -- will eventually do the same, forcing the band into hiatus for several years.

Ronnie Turner, son of Tina Turner, passed away after a battle with colon cancer ... according to the L.A. County Coroner's Office.

TMZ has confirmed Ronnie's autopsy results, which say the 62-year-old actor died due to "complications of metastatic colon carcinoma." The coroner says the cancer was stage 4.

The report says Ronnie only struggled with cancer for 3 weeks before his death.

It's also determined Ronnie battled atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease at the time of death -- which is a buildup of fats and cholesterol in the arteries.

TMZ broke the story ... law enforcement got a 911 call Thursday morning from a person who said Ronnie was outside their home and having a hard time breathing. A few minutes later, he stopped breathing.

Paramedics rushed to the San Fernando Valley address -- where bystanders were attempting CPR, but those efforts didn't work and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Below Deck" star Captain Lee Rosbach, AKA "The Stud of the Sea," is officially stepping back onto dry land ... leaving his luxury boat as his health struggles get worse.

Captain Rosbach dropped the bombshell on Monday's episode of the Bravo show -- telling his crew he had no choice but to leave the mega yacht after boarding at the beginning of season 10 with serious nerve issues.

He revealed his current health struggles have made it difficult to walk ... sharing it's gotten so bad, he can't feel anything on the left side of his body. He admitted he thought he'd make progress, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Captain Rosbach even told chef Rachel Hargrove his struggles have been "one of the most humbling experiences of my life." The episode leaves fans on a major cliffhanger after announcing his exit, but it's apparent the crew gets extremely emotional.

College football coaching legend Mike Leach has died.

Mississippi State confirmed its head coach passed away on Monday night -- just one day after he was rushed to a hospital in Jackson, Miss. after suffering a "personal health issue at his home."

The school said his death was due to "complications from a heart condition." No further details were released.

He was 61 years old.

"Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather," the Leach family said in a statement. "He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity."

"We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father's life."

Leach initially began his college coaching career in 1987 ... and eventually landed his first D1 head coaching role over a decade later when he became the head man at Texas Tech in 2000.

Leach famously implemented a pass-heavy offense that was later dubbed the "Air Raid," which many college coaches now run at schools to this day.

Following 10 seasons at Texas Tech -- where he compiled an 84-43 record -- Leach signed on to coach Washington State in 2012. He spent eight seasons there ... before moving to Mississippi State in 2020.

Nicknamed The Pirate, Leach gained national fame and fans for his dry sense of humor and quirky responses at media events.

Mississippi State University president Mark E. Keenum mourned the loss on Tuesday morning ... writing in a statement, "Mike's keen intellect and unvarnished candor made him one of the nation's true coaching legends. His passing brings great sadness to our university, to the Southeastern Conference, and to all who loved college football. I will miss Mike's profound curiosity, his honesty, and his wide-open approach to pursuing excellence in all things."

In his 21 years as a head coach, Leach compiled a record of 158-107 ... and won eight bowl games.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's getting 86'd from a boujee apartment complex ... and we're told it's because one of his armed guards allegedly got careless with a high-powered firearm.

Sources familiar tell TMZ ... when 6ix9ine heads to Miami, he usually crashes with Nelk Boys member SteveWillDoIt. We're told Steve's place -- part of SLS Lux Property -- put the hammer down on the rapper, banning him from their spaces.

According to a letter sent to Steve from attorneys for the condo association, obtained by TMZ, Tekashi's bodyguards showed up at the end of October, openly carrying assault weapons.

The letter says one of Tekashi's guards also "casually left his assault weapon unattended on his bag" and walked away from it briefly to talk with others.

The docs say the property association is "aware of the bounty placed on 6ix9ine's life" ... after getting out of prison "in exchange for information regarding others and the provocative antics of 6ix9ine," which the condo association thinks creates a dangerous situation for its residents, guests, employees and staff members.

It's unclear if there have been potentially dangerous incidents going down during his stays, but this clip obtained by TMZ shows someone with a gun waiting for him outside.

Sources tell us he's now on a banned list that includes a photo of Tekashi for apartment security to see. The attached message says, "If seen on property, do not check-in, do not approach and contact security immediately. "

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, has settled 2 lawsuits against the city of Louisville over the botched raid at his apartment that took her life more than 2 years ago.

Walker's attorneys say he'll get $2 million from Louisville over his state and federal suits filed against the city. One of his lawyers, Steve Romines, said Breonna's death would "haunt Kenny for the rest of his life."

He added, "He will live with the effects of being put in harm’s way due to a falsified warrant, to being a victim of a hailstorm of gunfire and to suffering the unimaginable and horrific death of Breonna Taylor."

Kenneth claimed the police violated his rights by not announcing themselves in 2020 when they busted into his home, and that they used excessive force in gunning down Breonna. Remember, whether the cops actually knocked or not was the subject of much scrutiny.

After insisting they knocked and announced themselves several times, a handful of Louisville PD officers breached the premises ... and Kenneth opened fire, believing an intruder was trying to get into the home. When one officer was hit, they shot back and killed Breonna.

The issue of "no-knock" warrants fell under a microscope in the wake of all this -- while the officers did, in fact, obtain such a warrant ... they say they knocked anyway, but Walker has maintained all along he didn't hear a peep and was simply protecting himself.

None of the officers involved has been criminally charged in direct connection to Breonna's death -- only for conduct related to the case, like wanton endangerment. Walker was charged with attempted murder at first, but that was dropped.

Christina Ricci and her ex are in agreement ... about their divorce, anyway, and it looks like she's keeping their L.A. home and her movie money -- but she'll cough up a bunch of dough to even things out.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Christina is getting the house in the San Fernando Valley ... while she and her ex-husband, film producer James Heerdegen, will split the money from the upcoming sale of their place in NYC.

Christina, who's repped by attorney Samantha Spector, will keep all of the residuals and royalties for her work. As for James, he gets a Subaru -- along with his personal belongings, and a one-time payment of $189,687 from Christina.

There's no spousal or child support according to the docs ... but Christina will pay for 100% of private school, and any uncovered medical expenses for their 8-year-old son, Freddie.

They'll have joint legal custody, but she makes the tiebreaking call on things like major medical and educational decisions. As for physical custody, that's also split between Christina and James ... although she has primary custody.

Robert Griffin III says he's sorry for using an anti-Black slur on the "Monday Night Football" pregame show ... insisting he simply misspoke.

RGIII was breaking down the Eagles' big win over the Giants for ESPN in the lead-up to the network's broadcast of the Cardinals vs. Patriots game on Monday night ... when he tried to heap praise on Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts.

"People said that Jalen Hurts couldn't get it done," the former Washington Commanders star said. "He could not break from the pocket. He's not the quarterback of the future. I think he proved all those j******** wrong."

The use of the word -- which has historically been used to disparage Black people -- was immediately panned on social media ... and hours after he muttered it, Griffin III issued an apology for it.

"Yooooo, Definitely need to clarify this," the former quarterback said. "THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT TO SAY."

The 32-year-old then explained he was trying to use the term "Bug-A-Boos."

"Regardless of my intention," he said, "I understand the historical context of the term that came out of my mouth and I apologize."

San Fran's boo-fest for Elon Musk at Dave Chappelle's show is not the takeaway from that night ... not for Symba, who says the Twitter CEO was all fun and games when they linked backstage!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the budding Bay Area rapper after he snapped a flick with Elon ... and he says the billionaire mogul wasn't rattled by the crowd's response, even if his defensive tweet following the viral moment made it seem like it.

Symba is very familiar with the Chase Center hallways -- he performed during the Golden State Warriors' December 10 victory against the Boston Celtics, and tells us he's gotten cool with Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson ... and he's in awe of their basketball IQ.

Likewise, Symba's been flashing his talents ... making waves early this year opposite DJ Drama with their joint mixtape "Results Take Time" -- and he told us they're already working together on a follow-up.

Marc Anthony's failed worldwide virtual concert is sparking a legal war between the promoter and the streaming service ... and it's getting nasty.

The promoter, Loud and Live, is suing streaming platform Maestro ... claiming the streaming service didn't hold up its end of the bargain in a virtual event that spectacularly crashed and burned.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Loud and Live claims it approached Maestro about live streaming a Marc Anthony concert to a global audience during the pandemic, signing a deal after Maestro assured Loud and Live it could handle a stream with over 100,000 viewers.

But as we reported ... the live stream for Marc's April 2021 concert was an utter disaster, with folks around the world complaining about staring at nothing, but a blank screen for hours until the singer finally pulled the plug.

In the docs, Loud and Live says more than 100k fans shelled out between $25 and $40 for the live stream ... only for Maestro's streaming platform to completely fail.

Marc's 90-minute concert, which was performed live and recorded, was then released for free the following day on his YouTube account ... the same day Loud and Live says it started issuing refunds.

In the docs, Loud and Live rips Maestro ... claiming the streaming service misrepresented its technological capabilities.

Loud and Live says it suffered a huge financial hit -- paying Marc and Maestro up-front fees, then promoting and financially backing the concert before ultimately losing out on the streaming sales ... so, it's going after Maestro for damages.

The price tag to keep Aaron Judge in pinstripes was expensive ... but according to CC Sabathia, the outfielder was worth every penny of the $360 MILLION deal!

Judge finally decided to re-sign with the Yankees last week -- opting to stay with his original team instead of going to either San Francisco or San Diego -- and the move certainly didn't come cheap for NY.

The Yanks agreed to pay him $40 million per season for the next NINE years -- a massive contract for a 30-year-old.

But, when we got Sabathia with his wife, Amber, out at their PitCCh In Foundation charity event in New Jersey on Monday, the ex-Yankees star made it clear -- his old team didn't get fleeced in the pact.

"I think he got paid the perfect amount," CC said of Judge.

Of course, CC might be biased -- he was a teammate of Judge's for four years in the Bronx -- but a lot of people would agree nonetheless. Judge is coming off one of the greatest MLB seasons ever ... where he hit an AL record 62 home runs, batted .311, and won his first-ever MVP award.

As for what the Yankees have to do next this offseason ... Sabathia says they don't need to get Carlos Rodón to consider things a success -- given the way the Judge situation all unfolded.

"The biggest signing was to get Aaron Judge," he said. "And they got that accomplished. So, everything after that is just icing on the cake."

By the way, Sabathia's event Monday was super cool -- he and Amber helped 300-plus kids have an awesome holiday party at Space Events in Englewood ... that featured video games, bowling, dancing and more.

Before this sweet girl in her blue poncho turned into an actress and a YouTube influencer, she was just trying to stay dry at Niagara Falls before heading off to California State University to study journalism.

After she had a successful career in fashion blogging, she moved over to the world of social media, and she now has over 8 million followers. Her first music video gained over a million views, but that's nothing compared to her 11 million YouTube subscribers ... she's pretty much a social media queen, and that's just literally her life.

The hotel staffers Mark Curry accused of racial profiling have been suspended from their jobs ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported, Mark claimed he was accosted by two employees over the weekend at The Mining Exchange hotel in downtown Colorado Springs ... and he posted video showing two staffers following him around.

Mark claims he left his room to go down to the lobby for some coffee when he was approached and asked if he was a hotel guest ... and in his video, he wonders out loud why other guests in the lobby aren't being asked the same questions.

A rep for The Mining Exchange tells TMZ ... "Employees involved in this matter have been suspended, pending further investigation."

Mark's video also showed him being asked for his ID by an attendant working the front desk.

Ben Simmons has found himself in the middle of Tory Lanez's high-profile assault case -- and now, the Nets superstar is defending himself after he was accused of messing around with Megan Thee Stallion.

On Monday, the defense gave their opening statement in Lanez's trial -- where he's accused of shooting Meg in L.A. in 2020 following an argument. While addressing the jurors, Tory's attorney suggested it could've been Meg's friend, Kelsey Harris, who fired the shots, after the women were feuding.

Enter Simmons.

The defense claims Meg had a history of hooking up with men Kelsey's been with ... and accused her of doing just that with the NBA star, which they say caused a huge argument between the women.

But 26-year-old Simmons was quick to shut it down ... posting a viral video on his Instagram story of Rick Ross yelling, "Accusations. These are false accusations," during a segment with Swerve in Our Glory when the Florida rapper visited AEW Dynamite.

Ben didn't name Meg, Tory, or Kelsey in the post, but, c'mon.

It's only day 1 of the trial, but it's evident the defense's strategy is to convince the jurors that it was Kelsey who fired the gun, not Tory.

Even though the trial just started, it's a critical piece of information. If the defense can create reasonable doubt that Kelsey, and not Tory, fired the shots ... he'll be found not guilty.