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Behind this "freaky deaky" image is a California native and entertainer who grew up admiring Eminem and Lil Wayne (whom he eventually signed with). He keeps his followers guessing his car's next paint job, but can you guess the man underneath this puckered-up celebrity portrait?

Not only has this super stylish star been mixin' it up in the music biz since the mid-2000s, he's also dabbled in other entertainment ventures ... He played Jamal on the horror series "Scream" alongside Keke Palmer.

Jackson Mahomes was partying his face off to kick off the weekend ... and he had the best seat in the house to watch a DJ do his thing.

Patrick Mahomes' little brother was front and center Friday night at Mosaic Ultra Lounge in Kansas City, MO -- where James Kennedy was handling music for all the club-goers ... and putting on a pretty good set, if Jackson's reaction here is any indication.

Check it out ... in footage obtained by TMZ, you can see the 23-year-old influencer raging as Kennedy spins his records, and even got on his feet at one point and cheered JK on.

Looks like Jackson was also making it rain behind James too ... with confetti, that is.

JM might've been having a blast here, but he's got some very serious issues to deal with in the near future ... including a preliminary hearing in his sexual battery case.

Michael B. Jordan is set to direct another 'Rocky' franchise installment with the next 'Creed' movie -- this despite the fact that Sylvester Stallone has major beef with a key producer.

The announcement was made by Irwin Winkler at an event in L.A. Saturday -- where he confirmed that not only is 'Creed IV' happening ... but saying Mike would be back in the director's chair, and obviously starring of course.

According to Deadline, Winkler said they'd start circling the project sometime in 2024 -- with him explaining, "We have a really good story [and] a really good plot. We got a little delayed because of the strikes, but about a year from now we’re going into pre-production."

Considering how much of a moneymaker "Creed III" was, this is great news for MBJ ... but probably hits a nerve with Sly -- who's slammed IW and his handling of the 'Rocky' rights.

As we reported ... Stallone has called on Winkler to give him an ownership stake in the IP -- of which he has no control over, apparently, after having sold the rights to the OG script years ago. Sly's POV is ... he's the creator of the character/story, so he should have a cut.

It goes without saying ... Rocky himself was not featured in the latest film -- and Sly said he just didn't like direction Mike and Irwin were taking things ... although he did wish 'em well.

Sly's love of his baby ('Rocky') actually just got a renewed focus thanks to a great Netflix doc on the man himself, "Sly" ... which touches heavily on how the Oscar-winning film came together. If you watch it, you'll see all things 'Rocky' are still very near and dear to SS.

Interestingly enough, Sylvester doesn't address Winkler in the doc (directly or indirectly) but he's made his feelings about the issue very clear. For now, it doesn't appear he's going to be involved with 'Creed IV' ... although MBJ left the door open in interviews earlier this year.

Hulk Hogan's son, Nick Hogan, found himself in a jail cell early this weekend -- 'cause he got arrested for DUI ... and the location is notable.

According to online records, Nick got busted Saturday morning just before 4 AM in Clearwater, FL -- where cops booked him on suspicion of driving under the influence ... noting he allegedly refused to submit to sobriety testing.

The exact circumstances that led up to the arrest are unclear for now, but they're logging this as a misdemeanor -- and they had Nick pose for this mug while he was being processed. As of this writing, he hasn't been released from custody.

On its face, it's a simple DUI arrest ... which, while serious, wouldn't normally be all that big a  deal -- especially if nobody got hurt. However, Nick had previously been involved in a scary car accident way back in the 2000s when he was just a teen ... also in Clearwater, FL.

It was a well-documented saga at the time ... Nick was driving with a Marine friend of his -- John Graziano -- who suffered a serious brain injury from the wreck ... but survived.

Nick, who was 17 at the time, ultimately pleaded no contest to reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. In the lead-up to that plea, cops had alleged alcohol was involved. Nick went on to serve an 8-month sentence behind bars in the aftermath.

Of course, the Graziano family also sued the Hogans over the accident ... and they settled out of court.

Nick doesn't appear to have any reps at the moment -- so we reached out to Hulk's camp for comment ... but no word back yet.

Megan Thee Stallion appeared to accuse her ex-boyfriend, Pardison Fontaine, of cheating in a recent track of hers -- and now, the guy's firing back ... with his own diss song.

The rapper/writer dropped a new song called "THEE PERSON" ... and it's obviously aimed at Meg -- with the lyrics explicitly mentioning her by name, plus a ton of other jabs at her character that he says he's observed in the aftermath of their relationship.

You can check out the song for yourself ... but basically, he suggests Meg's somewhat of a troubled person -- at least as he knew her -- saying she should look at herself in the mirror.

Pardi appears to reference MTS's time with Tory Lanez -- before the 2020 incident -- as well as other guys he heavily implies she might've slept with ... despite her telling him she hadn't to his face. In other words, Pardi's getting into some alleged bedroom tea of his own.

Of course, this comes after Meg dropped her single, "Cobra," just a couple weeks ago -- where she claimed she'd caught Pardi creeping with another woman while they were together.

They quietly broke up earlier this year ... with Meg recently hanging out with a famous soccer star ... but it seems there are still some harsh feelings over 2 years of them as a couple.

Taylor Swift is postponing her second show in Brazil this weekend after a fan died the day prior and amid scorching temperatures there in the city that she deems too dangerous.

The pop star announced the decision Saturday, not long before she was scheduled to take the stage there at Rio de Janeiro's Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos -- where she had just performed Friday ... and where a young fan lost her life ahead of curtain call.

Taylor says she's hitting pause for her performance tonight -- which would've marked night #2 of a 3-show stop there in Brazil -- and says her fans' safety comes first before anything.

She says, "I'm writing this from my dressing room in the stadium. The decision has been made to postpone tonight's show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio. The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first."

No word on whether she's going to proceed with Sunday's show -- for now, it looks like Rio's expecting a high of 84 degrees ... whereas it's in the 90s today, and hit 88 with high humidity yesterday.

Of course, she's being praised for this move ... as many were wondering how she could possibly go forward after the tragedy from Friday night, which Taylor obviously addressed as well. She said she was heartbroken over it, but also said she wouldn't talk about it onstage.

The fact that she was apparently just going to proceed with her regular show and not address the fan's death in person -- despite already having done so online -- didn't sit well with some -- and it seems Taylor/her team realized that ... wisely opting to stop down.

It appears that even before Taylor became aware of the fan's death -- which has been speculated to be over a heatstroke of some sort -- she already suspected something was wrong. There's footage of her at Friday's show demanding that the fans be handed water.

Elon Musk says he's suing a media watchdog over a report he says is misleading advertisers to flee X ... and it sounds like he'll try taking 'em for every penny they're worth.

Here's the deal ... Elon and his new social media company have been in the crosshairs of controversy over the past few days -- and it mostly has to do with a story Media Matters published that suggested pro-Nazi ads were running alongside organic content from users.

Of course, that sounds scandalous ... and it dovetails with accusations of antisemitism that Elon himself faced this exact same week -- this after a Twitter response he fired off.

The Media Matters thing, though, is what EM is now squarely focused on in this epic warning. He took to X Friday night to announce he was hitting the courthouse first thing Monday morning in a plan to sue Media Matters over what he claims is misleading reporting.

Elon says, "The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company." He added, "Their board, their donors, their network of dark money, all of them."

There was also an attached explanation to Media Matters' report -- which, again, suggested Nazi propaganda was somehow popping up on X ... and which seems to have spurred HUGE companies to either pause or outright suspend X advertising over the last 24 hours.

Those brands include Apple, Disney, WB, IBM, Lionsgate and others ... and that, of course, hurts Elon and X's bottom line. So, he's trying to rectify it all now with what he says is forthcoming legal action.

It's been a bumpy week for the guy ... but hey, at least his SpaceX Starship rocket got successfully launched today. That is, before it self-destructed after about 10 minutes or so.

The guy who called 911 to report finding "Extreme Weight Loss" star Brandi Mallory in her car, told dispatchers he was keeping his distance ... 'cause he doesn't mess with dead folks.

TMZ obtained audio of the 911 call and you hear the dispatcher ask the caller if he's with Brandi ... prompting him to quickly reply, "Nooo, she's in her car. I don't do dead people."

The audio also includes the caller, who owns a nearby deli, describing Brandi as being motionless and unresponsive in her car, which was in the parking lot of a strip mall where he runs his biz.

TMZ broke the story ... cops say Brandi was last seen alive Nov. 8 when she parked her car, went into a Chipotle to grab food, and then returned to her car and never drove off or exited the vehicle.

The deli owner told cops he realized something was off after noticing Brandi's car sitting in the parking lot for hours on end ... and that's when he checked on her and decided to dial 911.

Aubrey O'Day isn't down with the way the justice system worked in the Diddy-Cassie lawsuit settlement -- and AOD's letting everybody know it!!!

The singer -- who was signed to Diddy's label "Bad Boy" in the 2000s -- weighed in on Instagram about Friday's stunning settlement after Cassie sued Diddy in federal court one day earlier, claiming he had raped her and engaged in human trafficking over the years.

O'Day wrote, "Money > accountability. Every time. Welcome to another chapter of the system is well in place."

In other words, O'Day is saying that the system didn't work because Diddy likely shelled out big bucks to put the suit to bed. Details of the settlement have not been disclosed.

After Cassie filed the bombshell suit, O'Day took to IG to give Diddy a shot, writing, "Been Trynna Tell Y'all For Years." The New York Post also spoke to O'Day, who threw her "complete support" behind Cassie.

In the past, O'Day has given several interviews in which she alleged Diddy made unwanted sexual advances -- which she would always rebuff -- and he was involved in shady business practices.

For example, she accused Diddy of offering the publishing rights back to her group, Danity Kane, with an NDA attached, which she found annoying and never signed. It wasn't clear what ultimately happened with the deal.

Diddy has not addressed O'Day's claims, but he released a statement after the settlement with Cassie became official, saying, "We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love."

Taylor Swift is grieving over the death of a concertgoer in Brazil ... saying the tragedy has left her devastated with a "shattered heart."

The pop star took to Instagram and posted a heartfelt letter after her Friday night "Eras' tour show at Estádio Olimpico Nilton Santos stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Taylor wrote, “I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show. I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this."

She then said there was little information about what happened, except that her admirer was female and "so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”

Taylor also pointed out that she would not speak about the death when she hits the stage Saturday night because she is “overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it.”

Taylor wrapped it up by saying her heart breaks for the fan's family and friends, noting this tragic event was the last thing she wanted to bring to Brazil.

Meanwhile, during Friday's 3-hour performance, Taylor made sure all of her so-called "Swifties" in the crowd were given plenty of water to keep them hydrated in the 100-degree heat.

11/18/23 -- Diddy's attorney, Ben Brafman, tells TMZ ... "Just so we’re clear, a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing. Mr. Combs‘ decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best."

And just like that it's over ... Cassie and her ex, Diddy, are settling the bombshell lawsuit she filed just one day ago, alleging he'd raped her and engaged in human trafficking ... and they say they're doing it "amicably."

Both parties released statements late Friday night saying the legal war was over. Cassie said, "I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control. I want to thank my family, fans, and lawyers for their unwavering support."

Diddy similarly said, "We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love."

The stunning announcement comes as the dust was still settling from the jaw-dropping allegations Cassie had leveled against Diddy.

As we reported, the civil suit she filed Thursday in federal court accused the Bad Boy Records mogul of raping her in 2018, and forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes multiple times over the course of their relationship -- parties she referred to as F.O.s or freak-offs that were held in hotel suites in Miami, NYC, L.A., Beverly Hills and Atlanta.

Although many of the allegations, if true, were criminal ... TMZ checked with law enforcement agencies in all of the above cities, and with the FBI, but there were no open investigations against Diddy.

His attorney denied all the claims immediately, and accused Cassie of filing the suit as a last resort money grab -- claiming she had threatened for months to write a tell-all book if Diddy didn't give her $30 million.

The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, and neither party's statement makes reference to any money being exchanged.

Cassie's suit spurred a lot of people to weigh in on the saga ... some for her, others a bit more skeptical. In any case, it's all over now.

Suge Knight will directly address Cassie's claim Diddy once grabbed a bunch of guns to go confront the ex-Death Row Records boss ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned, although Puffy might have already beat him to the punch.

The ex-Death Row Records honcho will tape the Diddy convo on his "Collect Call" podcast in the next couple of weeks, right after he drops his Thanksgiving Day episode ... according to sources involved in the production. That was the plan, anyway, before Diddy and Cassie suddenly settled Friday night.

As we reported ... in Cassie's lawsuit against Diddy, she'd claimed that one night while she was at home with Diddy, one of his security staff burst into the room to inform him that Suge had been spotted at the popular L.A. eatery Mel’s Drive-In Diner.

Cassie alleges Diddy immediately got dressed, retrieved multiple firearms from a safe and ran out to go confront Suge. It doesn't appear any public altercation ever went down.

Like we said, the ex-Bad Boy singer was seeking major damages in her lawsuit against Diddy, claiming she endured savage beatings over several years of sex and alcohol-fueled benders. But late last night, she and her ex put their differences aside ... both saying they were "amicably" settling the matter.

Diddy's legal team had told us the suit was nothing but a classic shakedown for $30 million.

Suge and Diddy's history dates back to the mid-'90s at the height of the East Coast/West Coast rap wars that eventually ended with the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie -- so, not surprisingly, we're told Suge won't hold back with his take on Diddy's new legal drama.

Speaking of Pac, that Thanksgiving episode of Suge's pod will tackle Keefe D's arrest for the 1997 murder.

Suge and Breakbreak Media CEO Dave Mays launched "Collect Call" back on Halloween ... and their next couple episodes are shaping up to be their most explosive.

Bill Maher has an interesting take on us Americans -- we have way too many opinions on stuff that doesn't matter, and maybe we should all shut the f*** up.

The 'Real Time' host made people think Friday night -- think back just a few decades when we could consume news without making every story a battle cry about something we know little or nothing about.

Bill's got a point ... take Kylie Jenner, who posted she stands with the people of Israel and then almost immediately took that post down. As Bill says, that's kinda the opposite of standing with.

Get this -- 59% of us buy or boycott products based on the company's political or social views ... views that have nothing to do with the product itself. Just ask Anheuser-Busch or Target.

Bill says there's virtue in having NO opinion because the more we draw lines in the sand, the more divided we become.  As BM grouses, Thanksgiving has become a time when family and friends can gather together and fight about Donald Trump.

Model Danii Banks understands the main gripe with her flashing boobs at an NFL game -- the fact lots of kids were in the stadium -- but she's confident no little ones saw her top drop.

The OnlyFans model tells TMZ, she was in a 21 and up section when she freed her nipples during last Sunday's Las Vegas Raiders game ... and it wasn't like she and "the girls" were featured on the stadium big screen.

So, Danii believes kids couldn't possibly have seen her brief topless moment. Well, unless they had binoculars in a nearby section -- but what are the chances of that?

Danii, as we first reported, ended up getting booted from Allegiant Stadium for the sexy stunt, but says it was only security guards and police who had a problem when they saw the nudity.

DB did post a blurred version of her going topless on her social media ... which is now littered with comments from haters saying she never should have flashed her boobs around young fans.

She says she understands those concerns, to an extent, and apologizes to any parents if their kids happened to get an eyeful of Banks' assets.

Not everyone is mad at Danii though ... she says she's gotten thousands of new OnlyFans subscribers since last Sunday night, and she tells us how a bachelor party played a big role in her top coming off.

The Diddy lawsuit claiming rape and human trafficking has lots of folks shocked, and The Rock is making the rounds in D.C. like he's a candidate. So we gotta ask ...

Shaquille O'Neal is refusing to criticize Draymond Green for his role in a wild fight earlier this week ... telling TMZ Sports straight up, "I woulda did the same thing!!"

Everyone's piled on the Warriors star after he put Rudy Gobert in a chokehold and wouldn't let go during a tussle at Tuesday night's Golden State vs. Minnesota game ... but when we got The Diesel at his charity event in Los Angeles on Thursday, he said he just couldn't join the masses on this one.

As for why ... Shaq said it's simple -- "you've got to stick up for your teammate."

"If me and you are having an interview and somebody comes here," Shaq told our photog, "I'm going to have to whoop their ass. Because you're my homegirl."

Of course, Warriors coach Steve Kerr wouldn't exactly agree with Shaq on this one ... while he said he appreciated the fact that Green was defending Klay Thompson during the scuffle, he told reporters this week the Dubs forward just took things way too far.

"Draymond was wrong," Kerr said. "He knows that. It's a bad look."