TMZ.com Home

Meyers Leonard is back ... the NBA center is signing a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks -- almost two years after he said an antisemitic slur during a video game live stream.

The 7-foot big man will be joining Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on a 10-day deal, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday -- marking the first time Leonard will be on a roster since 2021.

Remember, the former Miami Heat player was suspended indefinitely after he made the offensive comment while playing "Call of Duty: Warzone" on Twitch in March 2021.

The NBA launched an investigation ... which ultimately led to a $50k fine and an additional suspension.

The Heat traded the 30-year-old to the Oklahoma City Thunder a few days after the incident -- but he was later released. He was also banned from the Twitch platform.

Leonard -- the 11th overall pick out of the 2012 NBA draft -- worked with several Jewish organizations to fight antisemitism while away from the NBA hardwood -- and told us back in Oct. 2021 that he had learned a ton, and was remorseful for his actions.

Hayden Panettiere's brother Jansen Panettiere has died ... TMZ has learned.

A family source tells us Jansen died over the weekend in New York. His cause of death is currently unclear. Law enforcement sources tell us they got a call to a residence Sunday night around 5:30 PM. We're told there's no foul play suspected in Jansen's death.

Jansen, 5 years younger than Hayden, jumped onto the scene in the early 2000s, working on projects like "Even Stevens," "Blue's Clues," "Robots," and "Ice Age: The Meltdown." He also had a recurring role as Truman X in Nickelodeon's "The X's."

At one point, Jansen worked alongside Hayden in 2004's "Tiger Cruise" and 2005's "Racing Stripes."

He went on to star in Disney Channel original movies and made-for-TV Nickelodeon films, picking up a nomination for a Young Artist Award back in 2008 for his work on "The Last Day of Summer."

Jansen kept acting through the 2010s, working on shows like "Major Crimes" and "The Walking Dead." He also was attached to 5 more projects at the time of his death.

Jansen was only 28.

The Santa Fe County D.A. has gotta be a little embarrassed today ... dropping a key charge against Alec Baldwin that now means even if convicted he might not spend any time behind bars.

The D.A. dropped the gun enhancement charge in the case ... this after Baldwin's lawyer filed a motion excoriating prosecutors for going after the actor using a law that didn't apply.

As we reported, Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins. The D.A. initially tacked on the gun enhancement charge -- i.e., using a gun to commit the crime. Problem is, at the time of the shooting, New Mexico law provided a gun enhancement charge could only apply if the gun was "brandished" -- meaning the gun was displayed with intent to intimidate or injure a person. That's clearly not the case with Baldwin.

For some reason, the D.A. felt Baldwin could be charged with a recent amendment to the gun enhancement law, that doesn't require brandishing. Thing is ... that law was not enacted until 7 months after the shooting.

The D.A. belatedly saw it Baldwin's way and dropped the gun enhancement.

Here's why it matters ... if the gun enhancement charge stuck and Baldwin was convicted, he'd face a minimum of 5 years in prison. Now that it's been 86'd, if Baldwin is convicted of involuntary manslaughter, he'd face up to 18 months behind bars, but the judge could give him less ... or even probation.

Britney Spears and her husband, Sam Asghari, are out and about -- grabbing dinner in public and looking like nothing is amiss ... even though her inner circle is deeply concerned about her well-being.

The singer hit up Nobu in Malibu Sunday night, riding shotgun while Sam was in the driver's seat ... her manager, Cade Hudson, sitting in the back. Brit was rocking dark shades and everyone seemed to be decked out in brown, long coats.

TMZ broke the story ... Sam and others planned an intervention with Britney earlier this month ... which insiders described as a desperate attempt to stabilize her. As we reported, the concern was over her mental health and substance abuse.

We got Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, out late last week at an L.A. courthouse and asked him who called off the intervention, but he was mum.

We know the intervention planners are furious over the cancelation ... as they feel she's in serious, even life-threatening danger. Our sources tell us she's exhibiting erratic and volatile behavior.

Hollywood's biggest names took a trip across the pond for this year's BAFTA Awards ... and some of the stars aligned at Netflix's after-party for one exciting night.

It was a who's who of celebs at the Sunday night shindig -- Jamie Foxx, Florence Pugh, Ana de Armas, Winnie Harlow, Lisa Rinna and Eddie Redmayne were just a few of the many in attendance.

Rami Malek snapped a pic with "Elvis" star Austin Butler ... who took home gold earlier in the night for Best Lead Actor -- shutting out the likes of Brendan Fraser and Colin Farrell. As we reported, Austin gave a major shout-out to the Presley family during his speech.

It was a big night at the BAFTAs ... stars like Cate Blanchett and Guillermo del Toro won in their categories, while Netflix's "All Quiet On the Western Front" clearly dominated -- taking home 7 awards, including Best Film and Edward Berger for Best Director.

"The Banshees of Inisherin" star Barry Keoghan also grabbed a W for Best Supporting Actor -- something fans of the flick have been waiting for since seeing his heartbreaking work.

Prince William and Kate Middleton also showed up to the award ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London ... giving the night a true dose of royalty.

Don Lemon's absence from the "CNN This Morning" desk nearly got lost in the sauce at the top of the show Monday ... which could be additional writing on the wall for his time at the network.

Poppy Harlow -- who may or may not be in her "prime," according to Don -- opened the show with Sara Sidner sitting next to her and ran down the big breaking story about President Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine.

Sandwiched between that news and announcing her other cohost, Katilin Collins, being in Poland ... Poppy said, "Don has the day off."

It was literally one second and if you weren't looking for it, you'd surely miss it. Obviously, the honchos at CNN didn't want to make a big deal about the late decision for Lemon to sit out Monday's broadcast ... on the heels of his misogynist comment last Thursday about Nikki Haley.

Now, Don also had Friday off -- that was scheduled prior to the Haley remark -- and he spent it lounging on a Miami beach ... seemingly not having a care in the world.

But, as we reported, his Monday absence was not pre-scheduled, and staffers found out in a memo circulated this weekend about the 'This Morning' lineup switch.

It's unclear if Don's skipping today was his decision or his bosses'. No one's spilling that tea just yet ... as the fallout continues from Lemon saying Haley was "not in her prime" at the age of 51 -- because, as he put it, Google says a woman's prime is in her 20s, 30s, "and maybe 40s."

Former UFC star Nate Marquardt is in the crosshairs of the LGBTQ community ... after he tweeted an anti-gay response to a commercial that showed two men kissing.

The 43-year-old, who famously knocked out Tyron Woodley in a 2012 fight, fired off the offensive comments after he said he saw the ad while watching ESPN+.

In his tweet, he said the commercial was "disgusting" and that he had to tell his kids "look away so they don't see two men kissing."

The former fighter, a devout Christian, added a throwing up emoji.

Immediately, the ex-Strikeforce Welterweight Champion was panned by fans for the remarks ... but he doubled down on his stance in further tweets.

As of Monday afternoon, the posts were still up on his social media page.

"Euphoria" star Angus Cloud has found himself in the crosshairs of the CHP after his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run ... and now, cops wanna talk.

The whole thing went down Tuesday in Marina del Rey where a witness tells us, Cloud and another male were driving around in an SUV that rear-ended a Toyota and then took off into a nearby parking lot.

We're told at least one person, a female, in the Toyota suffered injuries to her legs and arms -- with bruising and redness.

After the chaos from the accident settled down, the witness -- who knew the people in the Toyota -- went to look for Cloud and the SUV in the parking lot where he says Angus and the other person in the car had driven, but they were nowhere to be found.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... while the "Euphoria" star is not officially a suspect in the case, his name has been floated for possible involvement -- cops want to speak with him to determine if he was involved and/or responsible for the wreck.

BTW ... hit-and-run can be charged as a felony in California.

It certainly looks like things are gettin' serious between Pete Davidson and Chase Sui Wonders -- 'cause the two had a sweet PDA moment on their date at the Daytona 500 ... and TMZ Sports has the pics of it!!!

The comedian and his "Bodies Bodies Bodies" costar enjoyed their Sunday at NASCAR's Super Bowl in Daytona Beach, Florida -- and they were inseparable throughout the action while mobbin' around the famous racing event.

The couple toured the Daytona International Speedway track, and then, at one point, they got up into a box -- where they just couldn't keep their hands off each other.

They strapped on red earmuffs, wrapped their arms around one another, and locked lips -- all while cars whizzed by on the track just feet away.

Of course, this ain't the first time we've seen the two kissing ... just last month, they gave each other a big smooch during a date at Universal Studios Hollywood.

So as you can see, the relationship appears to be getting pretty serious.

Outside of the two lovebirds, a bunch of other celebs showed up for the race ... Tiffany Haddish, WWE's Charlotte Flair, NFL's Ian Thomas, and country singer Dierks Bentley were all there too.

Michael Jordan, who launched the 23XI Racing team in 2020 with NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, was also in attendance ... taking advantage of the NBA All-Star break.

Chicago White Sox prospect Anderson Comás revealed this weekend he's gay ... saying he's hoping coming out now will help inspire others to "fight for your dreams."

The 23-year-old became just the second active MLB minor leaguer to reveal he's gay ... and in an emotional Instagram post on Sunday, he wrote, "I'm doing this cause I wanna be an inspiration for those like me out there fighting for their dreams."

"Please don’t listen to those stupid things that people say about us," he added, "fight for your dreams, believe in yourself and go for it."

Comás signed with the Sox in 2016 out of the Dominican Republic ... and began his career as an outfielder. In 2022, though, he switched to pitching -- and logged 11.1 innings on the mound for the White Sox's rookie league team last season.

After his announcement Sunday, the White Sox applauded him -- saying on Twitter they were "proud" of the prospect.

Team assistant general manager Chris Getz later said in a statement Comas came out to the team last year.

"I was very pleased that he was comfortable sharing with us in player development," Getz said.

Gisele Bündchen is clearly havin' the time of her life at this year's Carnival festivities ... and she seems to be doing it alone this time around.

The single supermodel was living it up in Rio de Janeiro Sunday ... sharing some clips of her fun times during the event. She was even all smiles with a big group of pals as the night went on, wearing a super small top while flashing her abs.

Appears Gisele rode solo to the big event -- no sign of Jiu-Jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente, who many have speculated is her new guy. Regardless, it looks like she was enjoying every minute of Carnival.

As we reported, Gisele and Tom Brady divorced back in October, and we've seen her with Joaquim quite a bit -- from vacationing with the kids to riding horseback together -- although she hasn't said what their deal is yet.

We know folks connected to her were, at least initially, saying he was only teaching P.E. to Gisele's home-schooled kids.

BTW -- Gisele used to show up to Carnival with Tom back in the day ... but clearly those old memories aren't stopping her from partying her heart out solo.

President Biden just made a surprise visit to Europe -- touching down in Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ... as we come up on a year of warfare.

Biden popped up in Kyiv early Monday morning, a stop that wasn't previously announced -- and perhaps for good reason. It seems POTUS wanted to keep this trip under the radar, which makes sense considering he's in a literal battle zone.

The purpose of the visit is to announce new financial assistance -- upwards of half a billion dollars, Prez Biden noted -- which will cover everything from more military equipment, artillery, ammo and weapons for the Ukrainian army as they continue to fight Putin's troops.

On top of that, he said the U.S. would impose new sanctions against Moscow -- all on the heels of Vice President Kamala Harris declaring Russia has committed crimes against humanity by waging war.

In other words, Biden simply wanted to show in-person solidarity and reaffirm America's commitment to the embattled nation ... and his presence was certainly a sight to behold, especially with sirens sounding off as Joe did a walkabout with Zelensky.

The timing here is also noteworthy ... Feb. 24th will mark the one-year anniversary of the day Russia launched a full-scale invasion.

Former United States Presidents are going to new heights -- well, samples of their hair are ... because they'll be shot into space in honor of Presidents Day.

Hair samples from George Washington, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan will soon be rockin' zero Gs ... scoring a ride on Celestis' upcoming deep space Enterprise Mission atop the Vulcan Centaur rocket.

The launch from the company, which specializes in memorial spaceflights, marks the first time a President or any part thereof has taken to space.

We're told the samples were originally held by celebrity hair collector, Louis Mushro -- yup, that's a real job. It's all legit, with the requisite certificates of authenticity.

Mushro passed away in 2014, but the follicles were later sent to the spaceflight company by an anonymous donor.

As we reported, Celestis is also hosting the launch of a hair sample from "Star Trek" star DeForest Kelley and the ashes of Nichelle Nichols. We're told the past presidents will be sharin' space with the intergalactic actors later this year when the rocket launches from Cape Canaveral.

Things aren't lookin' up for Travis Barker -- the drummer messed up his finger for the second time in 2 weeks ... and he shared the gnarly pic for all to see.

The Blink-182 bandmate posted the injury Sunday, showing his ring finger in pretty bad shape ... with what appears to be some sort of lump, or even a bone out of place.

He captioned the disturbing digit photo, "Again" -- because he messed up the same finger earlier this month, which he also proudly shared with fans.

That time, his finger was also swollen, the patient's one-word description was simply, "F***." He told his fans he smashed his finger during rehearsals, dislocating it and tearing ligaments. Unclear if the latest bang-up is more of the same, though.

Obviously, a finger injury could be brutal for a drummer like Travis ... and he's less than a month away from the Mexico kickoff of his band's world tour.

FYI -- he's supposed to be rockin' out with the group for a year straight.

Ya can't say Trav is holding back in rehearsals, but maybe he should!!!

Francis Ngannou has a boxing legend giving him at least a chance in a fight against Tyson Fury ... with Mike Tyson telling TMZ Sports believes "anything is possible" if the two heavyweights face off in an epic matchup.

Ngannou, who recently became a combat free agent after spending more than 8 years with UFC, told us last month he's been in contact with Fury's camp about making a fight happen with the Gypsy King.

Of course, Ngannou is one of the hardest-hitting fighters in the game, but it would be his first professional boxing fight ... and going up against Fury would be a huge task for anyone, let alone a rookie pugilist.

Tyson showed a bit of optimism for The Predator when we caught up with him in LA ... giving us a simple, yet hopeful response to his chances in the ring.

Fury might already have his next opponent lined up with Oleksandr Usyk, but it's clear both sides are serious about putting ink to paper sometime soon.

Presidents of the United States aren't the only ones holding the title in this country ... so this holiday we're celebrating some very famous presidents of your fave companies!

The Kardashian/Jenner clan holds a few huge big shots of their respective fields. There's Kim Kardashian --- CEO of the booming SKIMS underwear and leisurewear line. Kendall has her 818 Tequila line and Kylie Jenner is the prez of her wildly successful cosmetics line.

Of course, there's tough competition. Rihanna has her booming Fenty Beauty biz ... and Jessica Alba is president of her award-winning baby and beauty line, The Honest Company.

Meanwhile, Tyler Perry continues making his mark in the entertainment industry with his own production company in Atlanta.

And, we can't forget about rapper/producer Dr. Dre and his popular Beats by Dre line.

We also have to give it up for some OGs who have been in showbiz and running their businesses for many years ... like Daymond John, who started FUBU clothing in 1992 and Master P -- creator of the popular '90s chips, Rap Snacks.