TMZ.com Home

Suge Knight's making an audacious claim about Akon on his new "Collect Call" podcast, accusing Akon of raping underaged girls in studio ... a statement just might land Suge in court.

Akon tells TMZ Hip Hop ... the claims are false, and he's not standing for the slander. He says, "I need to make it very clear that I absolutely deny these outrageous false and disgusting claims Suge Knight made on his podcast about me."

"I've never called, received, or had any contact with Suge Knight since he has been incarcerated. My voice you heard on his podcast was as a soundbite previously recorded from an interview I did with DJ Vlad 3 years ago regarding Suge Knight in 2009."

He continues, "I’ve never been a guest on Suge Knight’s podcast. I always believe in building positivity into the world and my actions and legacy have spoken to that."

"It’s unfortunate that I have to defend myself from these lies and I will be involving my legal team in filing a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Knight, my prayers for him will still continue."

In 2020, Akon addressed a violent confrontation between Suge and Akon's road manager ... which he says came from a business dispute between himself, Suge and Detail.

TMZ broke the story back in 2009 ... Suge was left KO'ed on the pavement and a man in Akon's camp, Robert Carnes Jr., was arrested for felony assault in Scottsdale, AZ.

As we first reported ... Suge launched his podcast with The Source magazine founder Dave Mays to discuss his colorful history as a founder of Death Row. He's recording the pod while doing 28 years for voluntary manslaughter.

There's a wild conspiracy theory floating around that Matthew Perry's recent "Mattman" posts before his death were a cry for help ... but the woman he dined with the day before he passed says that theory couldn't be further from the truth.

Athenna Crosby, the mystery brunette spotted grabbing a meal with Matthew before he died, tells TMZ ... the "Friends" star was really into Batman -- even calling himself "Mattman" and his ride the Batmobile.

She says he was a playful guy in the months that she knew him ... and the conspiracy theory he was pushing subliminal messages about his safety by using the superhero reference is way off.

Athenna playfully chalks the "Mattman" posts up to Perry being a nerd and says fans jumping on the conspiracy train are definitely getting carried away.

As we reported, the 25-year-old model and entertainment reporter grabbed a bite to eat with Matthew last Friday at the Hotel Bel-Air ... and said she was devastated to learn of his death just a day after seeing him.

Athenna doubles down on what we've been told already -- the actor was extremely optimistic and in great spirits leading up to his death ... and he even had projects lined up.

In fact, Athenna tells us there's been a lot of speculation surrounding Matthew's death in the days since he passed away ... and while she can only speak from her experience, she's certain his untimely death was a tragic accident.

Timothée Chalamet swapped Hollywood for NYC as he joined GF Kylie Jenner at the Wall Street Journal Magazine 2023 Innovator Awards ... where she was honored for her foray into the designing world.

Khy is the reality star's new brand that already seems to have caught the attention of fashion insiders -- and bagged her the invite to the industry event ... where she was joined by her special plus one.

The pair didn't stray away from their penchant for matching in all-black ensembles, with Kylie in a glamorous PVC bustier sleeveless gown dress and the "Wonka" star in a slick all-black suit.

With none of the usual crowds that turn up at the Oscars, SAGs, etc, Timothée let Kylie take the reins as they settled in for the evening.

The mom-of-two made her way to the stage to collect her gong ... where we're sure Timmy cheered her on from the audience.

This is just the latest sighting of the pair together, who were inseparable as they took to the streets of Paris for Fashion Week in September.

Remember ... TMZ broke the news in August that Kylie and Timothée were still an item despite a published report to the contrary after they first sparked dating rumors in April.

Weeks later, the lovebirds went public with their very hot and heavy romance at Beyoncé's concert ... packing on the PDA in front of a huge crowd and fellow celebs.

The Beatles are back together, and dropping one last song -- it features John Lennon on lead vocals, and they couldn't have done it without some help from ... AI.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr made an emotional and powerful statement with the release of their final song, "Now and Then" ... using new tech to clean up and boost a demo recording Lennon made back in 1978.

In a short film accompanying the song, the icons explain that John recorded his vocals ... and 14 years after his murder, his widow Yoko Ono handed over the tapes to Paul.

They tried to release the song in the nineties, but with poor muffled audio, the track "languished in a cupboard" for years and was eventually shelved -- until now.

Artificial intelligence has restored the song, with fans now able to hear Lennon clearly sing, "I know it’s true. It’s all because of you. And if I make it through, it’s all because of you." The voice of the late George Harrison is also featured on the track.

Unlike many other biz projects made in memory of those who have passed, Lennon's family is thrilled with the final product. His son Sean says, "My dad would’ve loved that, because he was never shy to experiment with recording technology. He would’ve loved that."

Kayla Nicole might not be with Travis Kelce anymore, but she had no issue getting the best seats in the house when the Lakers hosted the Clippers on Wednesday -- enjoying the contest from a courtside view.

The model and fitness influencer appeared in great spirits as she celebrated her 32nd birthday a day early at Crypto.com Arena ... seemingly blocking out all the outside noise related to her ex's new relationship with Taylor Swift.

Of course, KN recently spoke out about Kelce's new romance ... saying she had to distance herself from the situation by unfollowing her good friends Patrick and Brittany Mahomes on Instagram to protect herself.

While Kayla and Travis' romance is dunzo, there was still love in the air at the game -- recently-married Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and comedian Jay Mohr couldn't help but share a kiss while LeBron James and Co. secured the 130-125 win in overtime.

The arena was packed with star power -- popular K-pop group LE SSERAFIM also got to check out the Purple & Gold in their custom L.A. jerseys ... and the Laker Girls paid tribute to the quintet by doing a dance to their hit song, "ANTIFRAGILE."

The ladies also had a special meet and greet with Laker legend Magic Johnson, who fanboyed out and asked for a pic outside the arena.

Chaewon, Kazuha, Eunchae, Sakura and Yunjin were really into the game ... going crazy for the home team after the final buzzer -- so it really was a "Perfect Night" for the group.

Actor Jeremy Renner proved once again he's doing well after his serious accident earlier this year ... smiling from ear-to-ear as he caught the action from the front row.

Other big names include Swae Lee, Latto, Mike WiLL Made-It, internet star Corinna Kopf, Jimmy Iovine and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who might be the only celeb who didn't go home happy.

Everyone in attendance didn't get to check out the Clips' newest star, James Harden ... who wasn't available to play following his big trade from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Kim Kardashian says her ex Kanye West has traded in his luxury crib for an apartment with no lavish amenities, but their daughter, North, is totally down with it, encouraging her famous mom to live the same way.

The SKIMS CEO made the shocking claim as she sat on a couch with sis Kourtney in the latest episode of "The Kardashians," which aired Wednesday on Hulu.

Kim revealed North visits Kanye at his humble abode and their 10-year-old thinks her dad's just the best and has it "all figured out."

She quoted North saying ... "He doesn't have a nanny. He doesn't have a chef. He doesn't have security. He lives in an apartment."

Kim then told Kourt ... North started crying and asked, "Why don't you have an apartment? I can't believe we don't have an apartment."

As everyone knows, Kim lived in deep luxury with Kanye for years while they were married -- and she still does.

Kanye, on the other hand, has been living like a nomad, traveling planet Earth with his new wife, Bianca Censori, after his divorce from Kim was finalized last year.

So, where is Kanye's mysterious apartment? No one exactly knows. But, in May, there were rumors Kanye and Bianca moved into a $20K a month flat in West Hollywood. The building was supposedly tricked out with a heated pool, rooftop café and private cinema.

Ramona Singer's insisting she is NOT racist, and says she has no ill will toward her former 'Real Housewives of New York' castmate Eboni K. Williams ... who says she nearly quit the show over Ramona's alleged behavior.

Sources close to Ramona tell TMZ ... she's upset she's embroiled in claims of bigotry and racism -- especially because the 'RHONY' production company investigated the allegations 2 years ago, and gave her the all-clear to continue working on various reality TV projects.

We're told she also believes the whole affair's been blown way out of proportion ... referring to this week's Vanity Fair report, which alleged Ramona used a racial slur in conversation with a Black crew member during season 13.

We should point out, multiple sources told us in 2021, Ramona was cleared following a third-party investigation because nothing was found to corroborate Eboni's claims.

Our sources are adamant Ramona never used a racial word during season 13 and she is not racist in any capacity.

The VF piece also featured an interview with Eboni, the show's first woman of color to become a full castmate in its 13-season run.

She claimed Singer had asked why "most" Black people didn't have fathers in their lives during a training call, ironically, centered on racial insensitivity.

Eboni claims Ramona said, "What if they don't have a father? Why can't I say that? Most of them don't." Mind you, she allegedly spoke those words to 2 racial justice representatives, a Bravo publicist and an NBCUniversal communications expert.

Despite the allegations, our sources say Ramona's insisting she always liked Eboni and wishes her nothing but the best.

She is also still friendly with Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan and Dorinda Medley -- as well as all the other ladies featured on the show with her. However, due to fallout from the controversy, she hasn't seen them as often.

She's also been pulled from the upcoming BravoCon in Vegas, after digging a deeper hole for herself while talking to Page Six to refute the VF report allegations.

Cornell University has pulled the plug on its classes this Friday -- essentially saying everyone's stressed out -- after a student was arrested for threatening to kill Jewish students on campus.

The school will observe community day Friday "in recognition of the extraordinary stress of the past few weeks" -- this after Cornell junior, 21-year-old Patrick Dai was charged with threatening to kill Jews.

New York prosecutors say Dai threatened to harm and/or kill Cornell's Jewish students ... boasting online he'd "shoot up" Cornell's 104 West dining hall, which is predominantly kosher ... adding he planned to bring an assault rifle to campus.

The FBI quickly jumped on the case and found antisemitic messages on an online discussion forum, which were written under a username that referenced Hamas.

While the account didn't have Dai's name attached to it, federal investigators were able to pin him as the suspect by tracking the account's IP address.

Dai was interviewed by the FBI Tuesday ... and allegedly admitted to having posted the comments. He appeared in federal court Wednesday but didn't enter a plea.

The Texas Rangers won the World Series and then they dominated the postgame celebration ... sucking down a ton of beers and bubbly -- all while they blared Creed on the sound system!!

Corey Seager, Nathan Eovaldi and the rest of the guys threw the epic locker room party just a few minutes after they beat up the Diamondbacks, 5-0, at Chase Field in Arizona.

Manager Bruce Bochy got everything kicked off with a congratulations speech -- praising his team for its 4-1 Series win ... and then for a while, the guys got after it.

They dumped bottle after bottle of champagne and Budweiser on each other ... pausing only to make sure they sang Creed's "Higher" -- their unofficial postseason anthem -- as loud as possible.

The fiesta got so rowdy that at some points the guys filled buckets full of beer ... and then they doused each other in the suds.

Eventually, the dudes packed it in to fly back home to Texas ... and you can see in a video of the aftermath of their celebration, it looked like dozens -- if not hundreds -- of bottles of alcohol were spilled during the party.

As for the on-the-field action, Seager made history ... becoming just the second position player ever to win World Series MVP honors. Bochy, meanwhile, logged his FOURTH W.S. title with the victory.

And, Creed made sure to shout out the guys following the dub ... writing on X, "Congratulations Rangers!"

Latto has a whole lot to celebrate after her track with Jung Kook broke a record for fastest to reach a billion streams on Spotify ... and she told us why she's HYPED about the big news.

We got Latto Wednesday at LAX and congratulated her on the huge accomplishment for "Seven" ... and the one word she used to sum up her reaction to it is "crazy."

Latto says the track's record-breaking success has made her really grateful. She choked up as she told us about recently losing a dear friend, and said she feels this Spotify record is a sign her late pal still has her back from the afterlife.

In terms of what's next, Latto is more than ready to collab with the BTS member on another hit -- saying she's even got something in the works that'd be perfect for Jung Kook.

She also gives a shoutout to his army of fans -- in the U.S. and abroad -- telling us they've been showing her nothing but love and support, and she's all for making them happy again.

Francis Ngannou knows what he wants next ... telling TMZ Sports the clear choice is a rematch with Tyson Fury!

We talked to 37-year-old Ngannou on Tuesday ... just days after his incredibly impressive performance against 35-year-old Fury, and asked one of the most coveted athletes in all combat sports who and/or what he wants now that the world's at his fingertips.

"The rematch is what I want next the most," Ngannou told us.

"As for right now I feel like there is a lot of options for me, but I want to choose wisely, and I would go for the rematch first."

Before Tyson and Francis ever threw a punch at each other, Fury already had his next fight booked vs. Oleksandr Usyk. Ngannou thinks he and Fury should settle their business (the rematch) before the boxing champs scrap.

"My best scenario in boxing is to wait for Fury. If Usyk can step out and let me fight Fury, I'll fight Fury, then I'll let them do whatever they do. I'll go back, maybe do some MMA fight and come back with some people in boxing," Francis said.

"I'm planning to fight potentially twice next year, [starting] maybe February or March."

Of course, despite losing by a split decision on the judge's scorecards, many fans believe Francis beat Tyson ... so, we asked The Predator if he plans on appealing the decision.

"Who am I gonna appeal to? [The British Boxing Commission]? I have no chance. I think that's just another way of humiliation."

Before this witty boy in his yellow long-sleeve turned into a Netflix star ... he was just making goofy faces, running a play on his high school team, and growing up in Nashville, Tennessee with his younger sister.

It's quite possible you've seen him more recently ... playing Pope Howard on the top-rated Netflix show, "Outerbanks" with Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline, however prior to landing this big gig, he appeared in smaller roles, such as Nicholas Sparks' "Deliverance Creek."

Need one more clue? You can catch him on IG flashing his 8 pack!

Britney Spears memoir "The Woman in Me" has officially been out for just over a week, and while she moved an impressive number of copies, there's still one royal who's got her beat.

In a release Wednesday from Simon and Schuster's Gallery Books, Spears said, "I poured my heart and soul into my memoir, and I am grateful to my fans and readers around the world for their unwavering support."

The release reveals "The Woman in Me" sold 1.1 million copies in the United States -- that's including print, pre-sales, e-books and audibooks.

While Britney's figures may seem staggering, Prince Harry's book, "Spare" sold 1.6 million copies in the United States in the first week. Remember, it was release night when Britney took to social media to claim her book was "The highest selling celebrity memoir in history."

However, Britney barely did any press to promote her book ... so the number is impressive regardless.

As we reported, her email exchange interview with People Magazine was the only one-on-one she did about the book ... and the rest was up to her social media posts. We were also first to tell you that was a decision made by Britney ... she just didn't wanna do press.

Legendary college basketball coach Bob Knight has passed away, his family announced Wednesday. He was 83 years old.

"It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family," a statement by Knight's loved ones said. "We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being honored."

"We will continue to celebrate his life and remember him, today and forever as a beloved Husband, Father, Coach, and Friend."

Knight -- AKA "The General" -- is one of the most successful coaches in NCAA history with 902 Division I wins ... leading the bench for three programs (Army, Indiana and Texas Tech) from 1963-2008.

Knight was a three-time champion as the Hoosiers' head coach ... winning it all in 1976, 1981 and 1987. He also went to the Final Four five times during his time in Bloomington.

Before becoming a coach, Knight played at Ohio State, where he helped the Buckeyes win a national championship in 1961.

At 24 years old, Knight took over at Army ... where he would coach future Duke Blue Devils legend Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K also served as Knight's assistant before going to Duke.

Knight became the Hoosiers' head coach in 1971 ... spending 29 seasons with the program, including 24 NCAA tournament appearances and 22 20-win seasons.

The Hoosiers went a perfect 32-0 en route to a national title in the 1976 season ... the most recent team to ever do so.

Knight also coached Team USA to an Olympic gold medal in 1984.

Knight -- known for his hot temper -- infamously got ejected during a game against Purdue in 1985 after getting angry over a foul call.

Knight's time in Bloomington ended in controversy -- after he was captured on video choking former player Neil Reed in 1997, the school implemented a zero-tolerance policy toward the coach ... and he was fired after student Kent Harvey accused Bobby of grabbing him by the arm for referring to him as "Knight."

Knight was hired as the Texas Tech head coach in 2001 ... where he would lead the Red Raiders to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2005.

He retired from Texas Tech in 2008 ... and his son, Pat, took the reins.

Knight coached several future NBA stars during his career ... including Isiah Thomas and Mike Woodson.

After retirement, Bobby worked for ESPN as an analyst until 2015.

Knight was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991 ... and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Knight was hospitalized back in April with an "acute illness" ... and the Indiana program asked his supporters to pray for him.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under fire for his son's "insensitive" headless Halloween costume ... with followers pointing out how tone-deaf the PM is given the situation in the Middle East.

In snaps shared to Instagram Tuesday, the PM gleefully posed with his nine-year-old son Hadrien, whose head pops out of his black robe to give the illusion of him carrying his own severed head in his hands.

Justin joked about nothing stopping Hadrien from trick-or-treating, even though he "seems to have misplaced something," -- but users on the platform argue it's Justin whose forgotten something -- that a few weeks back, babies and others were beheaded.

Political commentator Tyler Popp labeled Justin's post as "tone-deaf," while Toronto-based Saba Khan, who runs the page @fictionallyflawless, said online that her "heart says this is the most tone deaf thing he can do at a time when children are getting their heads blown off in Palestine."

Others branded Justin's Halloween snaps as "disgusting, insensitive and disrespectful" as well as "mightily inappropriate" and "callousness is beyond belief."

Some folks weren't as disapproving ... criticizing those who turned Hadrien's Halloween costume into something political.

This isn't the first time Justin has come under fire for an insensitive costume. We all remember his apology tour in 2019 when snaps emerged of him sporting a darkened complexion in an Aladdin costume back in 2001.

Alan Ruck might want to consider delivery next time he's got a hankering for pizza ... ramming his truck into the side of a pie joint in a 4-way crash in Hollywood.

Law enforcement sources say the crash occurred around 9 PM Tuesday at Raffalo's Pizza at the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard. Video shows the actor's Rivian with about half of the cab lodged into the side of the brick building.

Our sources say two people were injured in the crash, but both were conscious and breathing ... so they're likely to be OK. Thankfully, no pedestrians were struck in the accident. We're also told there's no indication of DUI.

Alan stuck around after the crash, seen out of the truck and talking on his cellphone while others assessed the damage.

As for how the crash happened, surveillance appears to show Alan's truck collide with another vehicle from behind, pushing it into the intersection as Alan's truck smashes into the building.

Of course, the crash scene drew a crowd, with many taking pictures and videos of the vehicle ... certainly not a help to the flow of traffic in Hollywood.