The Portland Trail Blazers canned their new play-by-play announcer hours after announcing his hiring ... after a series of racist and sexist tweets from when he was in high school resurfaced.
The NBA franchise fired Braiden Bell over comments he posted on social media in 2012 and 2013 after a local reporter reached out to the team for comment about the posts ... according to KGW8.
Bell has since made his X account private, but not before the outlet took screenshots and reported on his insensitive posts.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard says she believes her former fiancé and baby daddy, Ken Urker, died from an apparent overdose … telling TMZ a substance was found at the scene.
Gypsy tells TMZ … the belief is Ken overdosed because an unidentified substance was discovered where he died, though she says she does not know what the substance was.
She tells us she also doesn’t know whether the apparent overdose was intentional or accidental. PEOPLE was first to report Gypsy suspecting he died from an overdose.
Cornell University students are furious about the alleged gang rape that a former female student says went down in 2024 at a frat house ... and they vented their frustrations at a lively town hall.
“Cornell is complicit in this rape culture here on campus, in Greek life and outside of it”: Adriana Vink, a Cornell student, and her mother, Carolyn Castiglia, attended a campus town hall Thursday night to discuss sexual violence, in the wake of a lawsuit accusing seven members… pic.twitter.com/buUyHKWLNo@CBSMornings
The university's student government hosted a public hearing Thursday night where students called out the administration over what they see as a lackluster response to the allegations.
One student told the BBC there was "a lot of anger" at the hearing ... adding she herself was incredibly angry with the university.
Wrestling legend Chris Jericho is taking AEW to the high seas ... announcing the first-ever live episode of “AEW Collision” from a cruise ship.
Jericho revealed the historic news during an exclusive appearance on TMZ’s “Inside the Ring” podcast ... telling us the special broadcast will take place during the seventh annual Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea.
“We are, for the first time ever, doing a live episode of ‘Collision’ from the boat itself,” Jericho said.
The live episode will take place Saturday, November 7 ... with “Collision” airing directly from the Norwegian Jewel while the ship is docked before departing for Bimini.
Jericho says pulling off the broadcast required figuring out the satellite connection, Wi-Fi, generators and thousands of feet of cable needed to produce a live AEW show from a cruise ship.
“Lots of logistics, lots of bells and whistles, lots of things we had to figure out,” he said. “But we made it work. And it’s the first time ever.”
AEW has continued pushing the boundaries with its event locations ... from Fairway to Hell at the SoFi Center’s indoor golf venue to Brawl in the Ballpark at Target Field in Minnesota, and now the first-ever live “Collision” from a cruise ship.
Jericho says fans can expect an all-star lineup ... because the wrestlers appearing on “Collision” will already be on the ship.
“Whoever Tony books that night for ‘Collision’ will be on the boat,” he said. “The cruise is going to start off with an actual all-star ‘Collision’ lineup.”
The cruise lineup already includes Kofiand Austin Creed, Jeff and Matt Hardy, Ted DiBiase, Carlito, Shotzi Blackheart, Harley Cameron and more.
The event will also feature Fozzy, Brad Williams, MicroMania, live podcasts, paranormal experiences and men’s and women’s Oceanic tournaments.
Jericho also revealed this year’s cruise will pay tribute to PAC ... the longtime AEW star and former WWE wrestler who performed as Neville. PAC, whose real name was Benjamin Satterley, passed away at 40 this past weekend.
Jericho says the cruise has become a one-of-a-kind experience ... and revealed he even has a patent for the way the wrestling ring is secured to the ship’s deck.
The boat is already 81% full ... but tickets are still available for the November 7-11 sailing from Miami to Bimini.
One of the 7 Cornell frat brothers accused of gang raping a fellow student allegedly called a sorority member to instruct a friend of hers not to discuss what she "thinks" may have happened on the night in question.
The sorority member -- who was at Chi Phi the night of the alleged gang rape -- told investigators one of the accused rang her up the next day to make sure a friend of hers didn't "say anything that she thinks might've happened last night" ... CBS News reports.
She ended up passing the message along, and her friend told investigators that the message "clicked" when Cornell sent an alert email about the sexual assault.
New body cam footage of Luigi Mangione's arrest shows the moment cops placed him in cuffs inside a McDonald's after a 5-day manhunt.
In the clip obtained by CNN ... an officer asked Mangione to pull down his mask inside the Altoona, Pennsylvania restaurant ... before cops privately shared their belief that he was "100%" the suspect they were looking for.
After giving cops a fake ID, authorities then asked if his real name was Mark Rosario ... before Mangione confirmed his actual identity and admitted he "clearly shouldn't have" lied about who he was.
10:01 AM PT -- The medical examiner tells TMZ ... "As you all know an autopsy was conducted this morning on Mr. Urker. At this time, there is no definitive cause of death. The case remains pending completion of toxicology testing, and no further information regarding the cause of death will be available until those results are received and the investigation is complete."
Gypsy Rose Blanchard's ex-fiancé Ken Urker is now in the hands of a Louisiana coroner -- and TMZ has learned his autopsy is scheduled for today.
In fact, Urker's autopsy is slated for this morning at the Jefferson Parish Forensic Center in Harvey, Louisiana, according to Kayla Breaux, the Lafourche Parish Coroner.
Breaux tells us Urker died in Lafourche Parish ... but since her office doesn't have a pathologist, Ken's body will be examined by a forensic doctor in Jefferson Parish. Breaux also said standard toxicology tests will be performed on Urker.
Halle Berry is firing back at her ex-husband Olivier Martinez after he accused her of abusing their 12-year-old son, and filed for a restraining order ... and she's raising Olivier's own history of violence.
Halle's attorney Marina Beck tells TMZ ... “To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement. There is voluminous evidence, including numerous judicial rulings, that Olivier Martinez repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with necessary therapeutic and educational interventions to the detriment of his and Halle Berry's minor son Maceo - misconduct for which Mr. Martinez has already been legally sanctioned."
Beck adds, "In a way, today’s filing is not entirely unexpected from an individual with a well-documented history of erratic, possessive and violent behavior. Fortunately, Halle is used to this kind of outrageous conduct from Mr. Martinez and, while she is deeply saddened, she will not allow it to deter her from fighting for Maceo’s best interests and providing him with the love and support he needs.”
Pittsburgh Steelers co-owner Robert Citrone’s attempt to stop his alleged baby mama from publicly discussing their contentious child support case has been denied by a Pennsylvania judge ... TMZ has learned.
According to a court order, obtained by TMZ, Citrone’s motion for an emergency order was denied at the end of last week ... but the judge reminded the parties the case itself is sealed and neither party can disclose filings to third parties who are not engaged in the ongoing litigation.
The order specifically states there is no gag order preventing either Citrone or his baby mom Amy Blunt from speaking about the case -- unless the two sides agree otherwise.
Gypsy Rose Blanchardclaims her late baby daddyKen Urker was the victim of "relentless cyberbullying" ... before his death.
Gypsy tells TMZ ... "Ken was an amazing father and a man who was deeply loved."
She adds he "will forever be my soulmate and my red string, a connection that time, distance, and even death can never erase."
Gypsy said Ken endured an "unimaginable level of public scrutiny" and "relentless cyberbullying" on social media ... adding the "cruelty directed toward him was something no human being should have to endure."
The fraternity brothers accused of gang raping a woman at a 2024 party not only exchanged graphic messages about her ... they also allegedly sent around a photo ... according to a new report.
CNN obtained images of the Snapchat chain, titled "Chi Phi Actives," which allegedly show a photo of Jane Doe in a room at the fraternity house while messages were being exchanged.
Additional messages reportedly include one member writing "laying rn," while others asked, "are you guys at least naked?" and said, "Like you can walk in and whip it out rn."
Calling all you mighty Millennials, ballin' Boomers, groovy Gen X-ers, and everyone else ... we're tappin' y'all into Gen Z's hottest stories of the week, packed with sexy stars and piping-hot news!
Rep. Yassamin Ansari has a new guy in her life -- and a decade on him -- dating 24-year-old YouTuber and progressive political commentator Jack Cocchiarella ... TMZ has learned.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the two have been seeing each other for the past few months, and things are going strong. They first met when Cocchiarella interviewed Ansari in spring 2025 ... started hanging out as friends a few months later, and things eventually turned romantic.
Ansari -- a freshman Democratic congresswoman repping Arizona's 3rd District -- is hitting the campaign trail as she gears up for reelection in November.
A man was fatally stabbed on an NYC subway Wednesday ... and insane video shows the aftermath as bystanders chase after the knife-wielding suspect.
According to police, 25-year-old Jyrell Thomas was acting agitated and pacing inside the J train before walking up to fellow passenger Mesias Lojano and swinging at him with a kitchen knife.
A bystander on the train began filming on his phone amid the chaos ... recording as he chased after the suspect through the platform and down the street.
The Game's companysays his record label promised a half-million bucks to push his album "Drillmatic -- Heart vs. Mind" ... but claims it left most of that money on the table and the album sales suffered as a result ... TMZ has learned.
In a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, The Game's company, 100 Entertainment Inc., says UMG and Virgin Music agreed to put $500,000 behind marketing and promotion for the 2022 album.
The suit says both sides signed off on a detailed budget allocation just days before release ... with money set aside for videos, digital ads, overseas promotion, and $125,000 for radio.
