TMZ.com Home

Jake Paul's a big deal in boxing, and some people don't like it ... but don't count legendary boxer Andre Ward among that group 'cause the multiple-time former world champion tells us he's a fan of The Problem Child driving new fans to the sport!

"I don't hate on it," Ward told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week ... of Paul's transition from YouTuber to boxing star.

"The crossover stuff like what Jake Paul, Logan [Paul] is doing, [Francis] Ngannou just did, I respect it. That takes a lot of courage, takes a lot of heart."

Ward -- who retired in 2017 with a perfect 32-0 record -- said he applauds Paul for ignoring the naysayers who have labeled him a gimmick or sideshow and want him out of the sport.

"I don't think so. It actually brings a new audience, more eyeballs," Ward said, "and if the fanbase follows them over to boxing, then more power to 'em."

"I'm a fan of it, I appreciate it and I watch it."

In fact, Ward, who is still only 39 years old, told us he'd actually be down to step back in the ring for an exhibition fight ... against Jake or Logan.

"I don't hate against it. I would probably do it for the right situation. I keep myself just good enough to where if I needed 7, 8 weeks, I can take care of my business," Ward said.

Although he hasn't been fighting, Ward's been busy ... in fact, he just released a brand new memoir titled "Killing The Image: A Champion's Journey Of Faith, Fighting, And Forgiveness."

Ward's book isn't just about boxing ... Son of God talks about everything from his difficult childhood to the role that faith and religion have played in his life, and how it's guided to him incredible heights -- including 5 world titles and an Olympic gold medal.

"This book takes you deep into my mind, into my life, into my upbringing [and] how I go to the point that I'm at today."

American actor Brian Van Holt was in his early 30s when he rose to fame landing feature film roles like "Black Hawk Down" starring Josh Hartnett, "Windtalkers" with Nicolas Cage and "S.W.A.T" with Colin Farrell back in the early 2000s.

He costarred as one of the 7 main characters on ABC's "Cougar Town" playing Bobby Cobb -- the ex-husband of Jules Cobb, played by Courteney Cox, with Busy Philipps and David Arquette also playing key roles on the comedic sitcom.

Holt also appeared in notable television shows like "Beverly Hills 90210," "Marital Law," and "Sex And The City."

TMZ Sports has obtained footage of Kelly Oubre Jr. just minutes after he was struck by a vehicle over the weekend ... showing the Philadelphia 76ers forward struggling to walk as he entered his apartment.

As we previously reported, the 6'7" hooper was involved in a hit-and-run outside his Philly residence on Saturday ... suffering a broken rib and injuries to his hip and leg after a silver car swiped him with a side-view mirror.

Sources tell us Oubre returned home shortly after being hit ... and when his wife saw him in serious pain, she called 911.

In the Ring camera footage, Oubre is heard telling Shylynn he was hit by a car as he rolled a bicycle into his residence.

We're told the 27-year-old was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital ... where medical professionals began treatment.

Our sources say a couple hours after the incident, officials interviewed Oubre to get some information on what went down.

At the time, Oubre claimed the incident happened near 15th and Spruce Street .... but on Wednesday, police said there was no surveillance video to support his claim.

Sources tell us two factors play into this -- one being Oubre was medicated and not in the right state of mind when he spoke with cops ... the other being he's fresh to the area, as he just moved to Philly in September and doesn't know his way around town just yet.

All that considered, our sources say it was challenging for Oubre to pinpoint the exact location of the accident ... so he tried his best.

There's no official timetable on Oubre's recovery ... although some reports claim he could be back in action as early as the end of the month.

Dwayne Johnson's getting acquainted with Capitol Hill, and while he's not not running for president -- or any other office, yet -- he IS taking meetings with U.S. senators to talk football and the military.

The Rock was in D.C. Wednesday for a sit-down with several top lawmakers, reportedly chopping it up about boosting recruitment in the Armed Forces, and the XFL ... which he owns.

Dwayne met with Senators Susan Collins, Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Mark Kelly, Jon Tester, Tammy Duckworth and Todd Young ... along with his XFL CEO Dany Garcia.

Sen. Tester is the mastermind behind the meeting, and he told reporters Dwayne will advocate for folks to join the military. Sen. Collins had no qualms about fangirling out ... as she gushed about The Rock's following, and admitted she wanted to get a ton of pics with the movie star.

Dwayne's visit to Capitol Hill also saw him shake hands with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ... and he took a photo with Capitol Police officers.

The Army, Navy and Air Force are reportedly falling short of their recruitment goals ... and it sounds like some senators believe The Rock has the influence to convince more young people to enlist.

Dwayne's visit also comes on the heels of him saying he's been approached by political parties about a potential run for president.

For now, Dwayne says he's staying on the political sidelines -- he's open to reconsidering in the future -- because, right now, he wants to spend time with his kids.

Kendall Jenner helped to bring the snowfall to sunny southern California ... pumping a bunch of the fake stuff right onto the set of her photo shoot!

Kendall was spotted on set Tuesday for an unknown new project  ... rocking a skirt, top, boots and a big smile on her face as she took control of the hose.

Unclear if the snow job was part of Kendall's role in the shoot, or if she just wanted to try out the task for herself, but she's clearly loving every minute of it.

If you were wondering, Kendall's boo, Bad Bunny, wasn't spotted with her at the photo shoot ... but we last saw them together grabbing some breakfast near the Beverly Hills Hotel after hosting a massive Halloween party.

5:52 PM PT -- The NBA is punishing Draymond Green for his putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold ... hitting DG with a 5-game suspension.

In announcing the suspension Wednesday, the NBA says ... "The length of the suspension is based in part on Green's history of unsportsmanlike acts."

Draymond will reportedly miss out on $769,970 in salary with the unpaid suspension ... and he's being fined $25,000.

Meanwhile, Rudy is being docked $25K ... as are Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels.

Draymond Green has found himself in hot water for putting his hands on someone once again.

This time, the Warriors superstar was ejected from Golden State's game against the Timberwolves on Tuesday night ... because he locked Rudy Gobert in a chokehold.

The MMA move happened just seconds into the Dubs' contest with Minnesota at the Chase Center in San Francisco ... just after Klay Thompson got tangled up with Jaden McDaniels.

The two NBA stars swung each other around right in the middle of the court ... and in an effort to break it all up, guys from both teams raced in.

But, when Green got to the fracas, he appeared to escalate things further by wrapping his arm around Gobert's neck -- and refusing to let go ... this despite repeated pleas from head coach Steve Kerr.

Eventually, Green did drop Gobert ... but refs still decided to throw him out of the game for the act -- as well as Thompson and McDaniels.

After the game -- which the Warriors ended up losing -- Gobert blasted Green for it all ... calling the Golden State star's actions "clown behavior."

"It's kind of funny because before the game, I was telling myself that Steph [Curry] is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected," Gobert said. "Because every time Steph doesn't play, he doesn't want to play -- it's his guy Steph. He'll do anything he can to get ejected."

Gobert then called for punishment for Green.

"I do hope that the league is going to do what needs to be done because that’s just clown behavior," Gobert said. "Not much to say. It’s clown behavior."

Of course, Green is no stranger to these situations ... he's been ejected for physical altercations several times over his career -- and, perhaps most famously, he was fined by his own team last year for getting violent with teammate Jordan Poole during a preseason practice.

We covered it all on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are about to have their own real-life version of "Meet the Fockers" play out on Monday Night Football ... where their parents will come together!

Sources confirmed to TMZ ... the pop icon and NFL athlete are hoping to introduce their families to one another when the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs meet up.

Plans aren't set in stone yet, but we're told the hope is for Andrea and Scott Swift and Donna and Ed Kelce to all be under one roof for the first time. That's right, NFL fans, get ready for LOTS of luxury box shots of the folks.

ET was first to report the news of the family jamboree, and it makes a lot of sense. Of course, you'll remember from the last Super Bowl -- Travis plays for the Chiefs and his older bro Jason is an Eagles star.

Here's how the families get involved -- Taylor's dad is a massive Eagles fan, although his devotion seems to have cracked due to his daughter's new bae ... Scott was wearing a Chiefs lanyard while bonding with Travis at Tay's Argentina show.

On their podcast, Travis boasted to Jason ... "Got him over to the good side, baby," referring to Scott Swift's apparent switch. He piled on by adding, "Just one by one, getting all the good ones to come on over." Yes, Taylor was also once a diehard Eagles fan.

In a direct message to Scott, Jason asked: "What are we doing, Scott? You're gonna let this man's devilish good looks and relationship with your daughter sway you from a lifetime of fandom, Scott? Ridiculous."

Meanwhile, we already know Taylor has hit it off with Donna -- they've hung out at Chiefs games -- and Trav's mom was recently watching the "Eras" tour film in a theater when a Swiftee spotted her.

3:24 PM PT -- The request for the restraining order was granted.

Billie Eilish is not only scared for her own safety, she's worried for her friends and family after one man has allegedly leveled a series of threats ... and now she's asking the court for help.

In legal docs obtained by TMZ, Billie says a man named Shawn Christopher McIntyre has been sending hundreds of messages to her and her family since September, including "disturbing professions of love" to her and "violent threats" against her brother, Finneas.

The star is requesting a judge to grant the restraining order requiring the 53-year-old stay at least 100 yards away from her, her family, and a close friend named Zoe Donahoe ... as well as barring him from contacting her on any social media platforms.

Billie says in the court docs that some of the messages he's sent include "I'm hunting your brother and his friends" and a voice mail in which she says he professed his love for her and threatened to kill her brother and Elon Musk.

He also allegedly wrote, "I’m sorry for what’s going to happen to your brother dude I  tried you know what I’m saying I really did try…"

Billie claims he's previously stalked her outside her home and near her family's home ... and worries "if he is not restrained he will continue his pattern of harassment against all of us, act on his threats, and go to even more extreme lengths to act upon his wild fantasies."

Arnold Schwarzenegger is being taken to court over his nasty car crash last year ... and the woman involved claims she may suffer permanent disability from the incident.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Cheryl Augustine says she was driving near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Allenford Avenue in Los Angeles in January 2022 when she got hit by Arnold's car.

She says Arnold was "wrongfully and recklessly" driving and was to blame for the crash and her physical injuries ... including the "shock and injury to her nervous system." She believes her injuries "will result in some permanent disability," too.

Augustine is now seeking damages to cover her medical expenses, property damage, and more.

TMZ broke the story, Arnold was driving a Yukon SUV last year when it collided with a red Prius, with his ride rolling on top of it ... and continuing to roll to the left right onto a Porsche Taycan.

Witnesses said the accident was straight out of an action film -- with the woman in the Prius, whom we're told was Augustine, apparently bleeding heavily from her head before being taken to a hospital.

Tragedy's struck as a ferry carrying cruise ship passengers to Blue Lagoon Island in the Bahamas began to sink in choppy waters ... ultimately claiming the life of an elderly American woman.

Terrifying footage caught on camera shows panic-stricken passengers clinging on to the two-decker for dear life on Tuesday as it perilously tilted to one side ... with some people appearing to have fallen to one side of the lopsided vessel.

In harrowing scenes, tourists were also seen plunging into the turbulent ocean to get away from the sinking ferry ... and police say that led to the death of a 75-year-old woman from Colorado.

The woman's name hasn't been released, nor has her cause of death.

In a TikTok shared soon after the disaster, fellow American tourist Kelly Schissel rehashed the events ... saying it was only when a bawling crew member ran up on deck for a life jacket they realized something was amiss.

In fact, crew members were in such hysterics that they couldn't instruct passengers on what to do -- but Kelly said they all managed to put on their life jackets and move to the boat's top level.

It was when they saw one person jump into the wavy waters, they all followed suit ... but some struggled to keep their heads above water even with their life jackets.

Rescue boats soon arrived to gather everyone to safety ... with Kelly getting into a fisherman's boat that just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Once at the Blue Lagoon, Kelly said she took matters into her own hands, directing everyone to a nearby pavilion for a head count.

Two other passengers were reportedly taken to a hospital to get treatment.

Balenciaga is being hung out to dry for a new designer item the company is selling ... a skirt made from a cotton towel with a whopping $925 price tag.

The high fashion house is being dragged online for its pricy new towel skirt, with folks on social media having a field day at Balenciaga's expense.

The $925 towel skirt is part of the brand's Spring 2024 Collection, Balenciaga started taking preorders Tuesday and lots of folks are wondering what the heck is going on.

Among the mean tweets ... "Nah Balenciaga a towel skirt? 😭 who the f*** is the creative director over there" and "Balenciaga is selling a towel wrapped around somebody’s waist as a skirt for $925 😂😂😂 please be f****** for real."

Balenciaga says the $925 towel skirt is held up by 2 buttons inside the waistline and an adjustable belt with a buckle inside ... and it's made in Italy and has to be dry cleaned.

The model on the Balenciaga website is wearing the towel skirt over a pair of $1,950 cargo pants and a $1,000 zip-up hoodie.

Naturally, some social media users say they can achieve the same look for way less ... like a $5 towel from Target.

The $925 price tag seems to be the main gripe here, but one woman says ... "A TOWEL SKIRT AS A FASHION STATEMENT?!?!  Please THATS SO UGLY 😭 why balenciaga ?????"

Duane Martin's going to let Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith deny the allegation he had sex with Will, but Duane's not jumping into the fray himself.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Duane has no plans to publicly respond to the claim, because the allegations are so ridiculous.

As we reported, Brother Bilaal -- who claims to be a former friend/assistant to the actor -- alleges he once walked in on Will and Duane having anal sex in a dressing room.

Bilaal told Tasha K, "I opened the door to Duane’s dressing room and that’s when I see Duane having anal sex with Will. There was a couch and Will was bent over the couch and Duane was standing up killing him, murdering him. It was murder in there."

Will's team is denying the allegation, telling us ... "This story is completely fabricated and the claim is unequivocally false." They also said Will is weighing his legal options.

Meanwhile, Will's wife was more definitive ... we got Jada Wednesday morning in NYC, and she told us the Smiths are, indeed, planning to respond with a lawsuit.

Bottom line for Duane, though ... he won't dignify the whole mess with a response.

Tennis star Andrey Rublev is going to need some bandages for his knee for the next few days ... 'cause he bloodied himself during a wild temper tantrum in a match on Wednesday.

Rublev's explosion happened while he was going up against Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Finals in Italy.

Rublev had been trying to go toe-to-toe with the tennis superstar ... but when Alcaraz got the better of him one too many times, Rublev snapped.

Check out video from the court ... the 26-year-old smashed his racket into his knee six straight times -- opening up a gash that required medical attention.

He was ultimately able to finish the match ... though he fell to Alcaraz, 7-5, 6-2.

Afterward, Rublev told reporters his knee was OK ... adding, "I get disappointed and couldn’t manage."

11:37 AM PT -- Lisa Kudrow just posted her tribute to Matthew Perry, remembering their time on the "Friends" pilot and thanking him for the decade they spent working together on set.

In her social media post, Lisa says ... "Thank you for showing up at work when you weren't well and then, being completely brilliant. Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have."

Lisa adds ... "Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you. Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew."

Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer are following their fellow "Friends" costars in honoring the death of their pal, Matthew Perry ... saying the loss is one that cuts incredibly deep.

The 2 shared their emotional thoughts on Instagram Wednesday morning -- Jennifer says she's been experiencing an "insane wave of emotions" since losing her friend ... adding, "We loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA."

She says Matthew loved making others laugh, and shared a screenshot from a conversation they had over text ... in which Matthew sent Jennifer a throwback photo of them on set, with her laughing while they talked -- writing to her, "Making you laugh just made my day."

Jennifer ends her post, saying "I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying 'could you BE any crazier?' Rest little brother. You always made my day ..."

David shared similar thoughts about the late actor -- writing, "You had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers."

He says Matthew's comedic timing and delivery were unmatched ... claiming he could bend a simple line of dialogue and turn it into "something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes."

As we reported, Courteney Cox opened up about Matthew on Tuesday, saying she's "grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day."

Matt LeBlanc did much of the same ... writing, "It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I'll never forget you. Never."

The entire "Friends" gang was in attendance at Matthew's funeral service earlier this month ... saying goodbye to one of their closest people.

We discussed Matthew's legacy on a recent episode of Last Days, available on all podcast platforms.

Jada Pinkett Smith has 2 simple words for the man claiming Will Smith had sex with Duane Martin ... pointing to a potential legal battle.

We got Jada leaving iHeartRadio Wednesday morning in NYC, and asked about her thoughts surrounding the allegation Will was caught having sex with another man -- her response? "We Suin'!"

It doesn't seem Jada's joking ... and a source close to the situation told us Will is actually weighing his legal options, so there could be some truth to Jada's response.

As we reported, Brother Bilaal -- a man claiming to be Will's former assistant/friend -- says he walked in on Will bent over a couch in Duane's dressing room in the past, having anal sex ... adding, "Duane was standing up killing him, murdering him. It was murder in there.”

A rep for Will told us the whole thing was BS ... saying, "This story is completely fabricated and the claim is unequivocally false."

We covered the story on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Travis Kelce says he was downright floored when he heard Taylor Swift give him a shout-out with a lyric change last week ... admitting the now-viral moment in Buenos Aires "blew me away."

The NFL star went in-depth about his trip to Argentina to see his new girlfriend on this week's episode of  "New Heights is presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment" ... saying that because it was all "public knowledge," he was down to spill some of the beans on how his bye week vacation went.

The Chiefs tight end told his brother, Jason, that he had a "whole bunch of fun" on the excursion ... revealing it was his first time ever heading south of the equator.

He said he and Swift -- plus her dad -- got dinner on Friday night following the postponement of Taylor's concert ... and they dined on "some good steak."

Then, he opened up about Saturday ... gushing to Jason about how "electric" it was to be in attendance for her show.

As for the big moment when Swift sang about him during her "Karma" performance ... he said he had some idea it was coming -- but that didn't change his emotions when "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me" reverberated through the stadium.

"Definitely when I heard it come out of her mouth, it still shocked me and blew me away," he said. "I was like, 'Oh, shhh! She really just said that! All right!'"

Kelce then apologized to Taylor's dad for missing a high-five he had tried to get during the calamity.

"Sorry, Mr. Swift!" he said with a laugh.

Kelce also said he convinced Taylor's dad to switch allegiances from the Eagles to the Chiefs -- something Jason, Philadelphia's star center, wasn't exactly pleased about.