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There's a new popcorn bucket that's apparently been made to promote the upcoming 'Dune' sequel -- and if this thing is legit ... it's raising a lot of eyebrows for very obvious reasons.

These photos of the purported movie-themed bucket -- which has not hit theaters yet, apparently -- are circulating online ... and the rub, it seems, is that these may in fact be trotted out to the general public in conjunction with the 'Dune 2' release in March.

If you're unsure what you're looking at here, well ... you're not alone. If you're a fan of the franchise, though -- you'll recognize this as the mouth of one of the giant sandworms in the first flick, which Timothée Chalamet has to fight/escape from in his epic sci-fi universe.

Basically, WB (or whoever the hell designed this) seems to have thought it'd be fun to have fans reach their hands into the "mouth" of the plastic worm to get to the popcorn below.

No harm, no foul in concept -- but in the execution of this design ... the makers didn't realize this worm bucket thing could be interpreted a few different ways -- and yes, they're all pretty freaking naughty. At least that's what the Internet thinks, anyway ... jokes galore.

We'll let your imagination run wild with this one -- and we suppose we'll ask the question ...

George Carlin's estate is getting the law involved over the AI special, "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead" ... suing the creators for the "bastardization of Carlin's real work and legacy."

The copyright infringement lawsuit, filed Thursday in a California federal court, is accusing media company Dudesy of condensing 5 decades worth of the influential comic's standup routines to train an AI chatbot ... mimicking his voice and humor for the special -- without consent or compensation.

The docs also make it clear they're not happy with George's voice/likeness used for promo purposes -- rubbishing the special as a "piece of computer-generated click-bait which detracts from the value of Carlin's comedic works and harms his reputation."

They're asking for an immediate removal of the special and destruction of all copies as well as unspecified damages.

The hour-long special featuring a robot version of George doing standup has been available on YouTube since January 9th -- and the late icon's daughter Kelly Carlin-McCall has been the biggest denouncer of the project ... releasing a statement stating no technology could replicate her father's genius.

On "TMZ Live," she echoed the same sentiments ... telling us the AI program had her dad's name, but that's about where the comparisons end ... adding the computer botched her dad's comedic cadence and just didn't capture the magic like he once did.

Kelly's wish to have it removed could likely be granted if Tom Brady's recent legal win is anything to go by. The athlete successfully got his own AI-generated comedy special from the same platform removed from the internet.

Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion are at each other's throats right now after trading shots on respective diss tracks -- but Nicki's going low ... swiping at MTS' extremities.

It all started on Friday, when Megan made good on her promise to continue to fire back at her critics from the Tory Lanez trial ... and released a new track titled "Hiss" that picked up where the last one, "Cobra," left off. While going off on haters, she also shaded NM.

Meg starts the song clawing into her ex-boyfriend Pardison Fontaine further (“He can't move on, can't let it go/He hooked, nose full of that Tina Snow) ... and fans think she went on to throw jabs below the belt at Nicki Minaj and her husband Kenneth Petty!!!

As we’ve reported, KP is a registered sex offender and Meg let her snake bite sink deep … rapping, "These h**s don't be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan's Law/I don't really know what the problem is, but I guarantee y'all don't want me to start/Bitch, you a p***y!!!"

Megan’s Law is not only a cool name flip, it’s the name of the federal law that makes it mandatory that registered sex offenders have their info made public … venomous lyrics indeed. There's another line in there that mentions R. Kelly, and some believe this too might be some sort of reference to Nicki -- although the connection isn't entirely clear.

Anyway, Nicki immediately went into attack mode after the song dropped, liking several anti-Megan tweets, including many that made fun of the size of her feet.

She also previewed a new track of her own -- which is currently unnamed -- that she recorded almost immediately after hearing Meg's new track ... and some of the lyrics are absolutely scathing.

One line in particular caught people's attention -- Nicki raps, "Bad bitch she like 6 foot, I call her bigfoot // the bitch fell off, I said get up on your good foot." Nicki has also been liking a ton of memes/pics that depict Megan's feet (which Nicki seems to think are quite large).

The bigger shot here, though, is the fact that Nicki is referencing Meg being shot by Tory Lanez -- something her fan base loved to hear, but which some have said goes too far.

Anyway, in the wake of all this ... #Bigfoot soon became a trending topic on X, and Nicki hissed back further at Megan on IG … clowning her flow to make the H-Town hottie sound like some sort of UGK wannabe. Like we said, their back-and-forth has been brutal.

Megan dropped an IG Story laughing at the drama she caused online but Nicki claimed to have the last laugh seeing her name trend online.

A statue honoring baseball icon Jackie Robinson was stolen from outside a youth baseball facility in Kansas this week ... and cops are now searching for the scumbags who ran off with it.

Local police shared surveillance footage of the heist that went down at League 42's McAdams Park in Wichita early Thursday morning ... which appears to show someone cut the Robinson tribute at the ankles, put it in the back of a truck and flee the scene.

Wichita PD shared an image of what's left of the Dodgers legend's bronze figure ... just two feet standing on top of a home plate.

The station said the "community is devastated" over the vandalism ... and is calling on anyone with information regarding its whereabouts to come forward.

"The actions of those individuals who had the audacity to take the statue of Jackie Robinson from a park where kids and families in our community can gather, learn the history of Jackie Robinson, an American icon, and play the game of baseball should upset all of us," Wichita Police Chief Joseph Sullivan said.

"What troubles me even more is that this theft occurred just before the beginning of February, which marks the start of Black History Month."

"Our city wants the statute returned. We also want the individuals who robbed our community of a treasure to be held accountable for their actions."

League 42 was created in 2013 to help children in Wichita learn the sport without worrying about high registration fees ... with hundreds signing up each year. Robinson's trailblazing career and breaking the MLB color barrier served as inspiration for the organization.

Kyle Richards & Mauricio Umansky's separation hasn't been easy on the couple ... in fact, not being with Mauricio has been "scary" for Kyle -- at least according to her.

The 'Real Housewives' star stopped by SiriusXM's "Jeff Lewis Live" Thursday and discussed her messy estrangement from her hubby of almost three decades ... and she admitted she's not totally sure who she is outside of that marriage.

KR said she feels her "entire identity is being a wife and a mom," and she's trying to figure out who she is outside of that -- all while still dealing with feelings of compassion toward MU.

Kyle said it would almost be easier to hate Mauricio if she straight-up couldn't stand being around him ... but, quite frankly she doesn't -- and it's making their split that much harder ... sounds like she's still quite fond of him.

She went on to say they're making the best of their situation ... living in the same house, sleeping in different bedrooms -- and it helps that they've got other homes too though they aren't actively trying to be in different places.

Remember, we told you all about their Aspen excursions last month with Umansky photographing a couple lovely models wearing just towels on the slopes and ripping his shirt off in a poppin' bar ... before he, Kyle and their daughters hung out around Christmas.

Richards said the trip was pretty tame ... adding if you didn't know the former couple, then you wouldn't think anything was amiss in their relationship -- bottom line, no blow-ups over the Christmas ham.

Some people have theorized the couple's staying together to avoid splitting up their assets in a messy divorce ... but Richards threw cold water on that idea during the interview -- saying she'd get divorced if she was totally sure they weren't going to be together anymore.

As for the money, Kyle's very clear ... it's collective cash! She said they were totally broke when they started dating and got married -- so, all their success like The Agency taking off and the big Bravo bucks they made on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" would be split evenly.

The couple decided to go their separate ways last summer, and their breakup's been plagued with rumors of Kyle moving on with Morgan Wade quickly after the split and Mauricio getting it on with his "Dancing with the Stars" partner Emma Slater ... basically, everyone's been up in their business over the last six months.

It seems KR's finally ready to talk about it all -- Mauricio and Morgan included -- telling us earlier this week she's gonna spill her guts ... when cameras start rolling on the 'RHOBH" reunion. That's one hell of a promo, Kyle!

The reunion tapes today, so fans won't have to wait much longer for all the answers they've been craving.

10:08 AM PT -- Memphis PD says a cause of death for Rick Buchanan has yet to be determined, and more interestingly ... that there's no sign of foul play in terms of how he died. Of course, they say they're still investigating.

A local DJ in Memphis, who just so happens to have the same moniker as a very famous rapper, appears to have been murdered in gruesome fashion ... via beheading.

Rick Buchanan -- otherwise known as "Slick Rick" in the area, no affiliation to THE Slick Rick -- was found dead Wednesday by his brother -- who told FOX13 reporter Walter Murphy that he walked into his sibling's home and discovered he'd been decapitated.

Buchanan's sibling, John, relayed the horrifying incident to the outlet, saying ... "I walked in and found him, and I just called 911." He goes on to describe exactly how he found him.

John adds, "I thought his coat was up over his head like it was cold or something. I ran out and then I ran back in. And, then I realized it was something worse." Rick's brother goes on to explain Rick was still holding his keys in this state, and that his pants were pulled down. He also says his back door was ajar ... so, to say this is suspicious is an understatement.

One other thing ... Rick was actually shot during a robbery in Memphis back in 2014, which he survived at the time -- but John says he was never the same after that.

He says it had become hard for Rick to find work, and that he became a bit of a recluse -- this despite being a huge personality known in the community for years ... who was big on performing. Now, John and the extended family say they're trying to piece things together on what exactly happened to Rick -- and, of course, making funeral arrangements, etc.

The obvious question ... what are cops saying? FOX13 cites Memphis PD as only saying they're investigating. On its face, it sounds like an outright slaughter and butchering.

Justin Timberlake's trying to take over the charts with his first new single in 6 years -- but Britney Spears fans are pushing back with a major troll ... getting her own track trending again.

After JT dropped "Selfish" Thursday -- which has been getting decent reviews, actually -- Brit's fandom immediately kicked into high gear to thwart his efforts ... downloading her 2011 song of the exact same name, 'Selfish' which has swiftly made its way back to the iTunes charts.

BTW, Britney's version of  "Selfish" was a bonus track from her 2011 album "Femme Fatale" and flew under the radar at the time -- so the fact it's being resurfaced right now by her loyal base is staggering ... it just goes to show the love they have for her, not to mention the power.

BS's 'Selfish' has reached #1 across different charts (like iTunes) in certain territories -- including in Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Namibia, and even the U.S. ... which just speaks to the international appeal of Britney. JT's song has also been charting well, FWIW.

This unfolding on the same day JT dropped his new single from his sixth album is obviously no coincidence -- as fans have made it crystal clear ... they believe his actions were partially to blame for Brit's public vilification in the 2000s. That's certainly how she saw it, anyway.

Fans have especially been rallying against him after his relationship with Brit was first scrutinized as part of the #FreeBritney movement in 2021 -- not to mention what she revealed about him in her memoir last year.

In fact, the tide turned against him so enormously that he ended up issuing a public apology to his ex ... saying he was deeply sorry for the times in his life when his actions contributed to her problems.

9:56 AM PT -- Yasiel Puig and his agent are addressing the brawl ... insisting he was trying to play peacemaker in the scuffle, and only defended himself when he was hit in the face.

Ex-MLB star Yasiel Puig found himself in the middle of a bench-clearing brawl during a professional baseball game in Venezuela this week ... throwing punches and getting hit as both sides duked it out.

The chaos broke out during Game 2 of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League's championship series at University of Caracas Stadium on Wednesday ... when Puig's Tiburones de La Guaira teammate Maikel Garcia knocked a two-run dinger in the bottom of the 8th inning to put their team up 10-8 over Cardenales de Lara.

As Garcia rounded the bases, he appeared to hot dog in front of the opposing team's bench ... running his mouth and slowly trotting before reaching home.

Naturally, the Cardenales players took issue with the showboating ... and one player started clapping back at Garcia.

The heated confrontation led both squads to leave their dugouts ... and a scrap broke out.

Puig -- who played in the MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland from 2013-19 -- ended up right in the middle of the violent altercation ... throwing hands and getting hit in the process.

After a few minutes, the action died down ... and both teams made it back to their dugouts.

Surprisingly, no one was ejected for the impromptu fight ... and Puig's team held on to win the contest, 12-10.

Fun fact -- another MLB star was supposed to be on the field ... as Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was playing for La Guaira prior to the tournament, but has been sitting out recently to prepare for the 2024 season.

Convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith was executed Thursday by the state of Alabama using a new deadly procedure, as his wife and pastor looked on in absolute horror at his excruciatingly painful reaction.

Smith was ushered inside the execution chamber at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, where prison staff put him in restraints and fitted a gas mask over his face to suffocate him with nitrogen hypoxia. He became the first ever inmate to be put to death utilizing this method.

Before the execution began at 8:07 PM CST, Smith made a heart sign with his left hand to his family who was present before saying his final words through his mask: "Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards... I’m leaving with love, peace, and light."

The next 18 minutes turned into a nightmare for Smith and his two closest confidantes -- namely his wife, Deanna, and his spiritual guide, Jeff Hood, both of whom were in the witness box.

Hood later told the Daily Mail ... the execution was the "worst thing" he had ever seen, even causing prison officials to gasp while Smith died much slower than anticipated.

The pastor also said Smith started convulsing with his body popping up on the gurney after correctional officers pumped his mask full of nitrogen hypoxia, forcing him to inhale high concentrations of the gas.

At one point, Deanna cried out for her dying husband as he grabbed at his restraints, taking his last breaths before he suffocated. Smith was sentenced to death in 1996 for killing a preacher's wife, Elizabeth Sennett, as part of a $1,000 murder-for-hire plot.

He was pronounced dead at 8:25 PM CST.

Morgan Wallen's taking cues from the biggest pop star in the world -- he's releasing a new version of an old song a la Taylor Swift, simply to thwart the plans of some former colleagues.

The singer-songwriter took to IG Thursday to give fans the rundown ... basically, he said he signed a music deal more than a decade ago without legal representation -- something he now deeply regrets -- and recorded 13 songs on the deal.

Of those 13 songs, Wallen only used 5 for his smash debut EP "Stand Alone," including one of his big hits "Spin You Around," but his former team still seems to have control over the other 8 tracks he didn't use.

Morgan said these ex-friends are dropping a 10th anniversary of "Stand Alone," but he's not involved with it, and he's not happy the unreleased songs -- which he says are not up to his high standards -- are coming out as well.

But, he's fighting back, in a way, by re-recording "Spin You Around" in Nashville earlier this week -- and he's dropping the song at the same time as the unauthorized project.

Kind of an "anything you can do, I can do better" situation -- and ripped right from the Tay Tay playbook. Remember, Taylor set out to record her 'Taylor's Version' of each of her albums since Scooter Braun bought and sold her master recordings from her OG label, Big Machine Records, back in 2020.

Morgan's situation seems a little less thought out ... and it's easy to tell that from the album cover. MW says he was on a duck hunting trip when he got the news, so he basically had to slap the art together himself out in the woods.

We'll just say it has rustic charm.

Morgan said he cringes when he hears the old songs, and he's worried fans will confuse them for some new direction he's taking.

He's not planning to work on any truly new music 'til the end of February.

A boat apparently full of migrants washed ashore this week in a Southern California beach town -- and when it touched down on land ... the people inside went heading for the hills.

This wild footage has been circulating online for the past 24 hours, and it seems to show what eyewitnesses claim was a panga boat that was dead set on landing in La Jolla, CA -- which it eventually did, in the middle of the day no less.

The people inside are purported to be undocumented migrants ... which is what makes what happens next all the more shocking -- these folks hopped out and scattered very quickly.

As you can see, several occupants from the boat come running up the beach onto the road above -- with a bunch of bystanders watching them in plain view, mind you -- and they start making their way into the nearby seaside neighborhood ... there were even kids in the mix.

As onlookers took it all in with shock ... it seems there were even some first responders who saw it happen too. You can hear sirens from some sort of vehicle, presumably a lifeguard.

As the cameraman notes ... they don't seem too eager to stop 'em, although it's unclear if they did. It's also unknown if these folks were eventually approached/apprehended. Of course, it's worth pointing out that La Jolla is in San Diego County ... a place of sanctuary here in the States, and where migrants can technically come and seek refuge/asylum.

We saw something very similar take place off the shores of Malibu not too long ago --- so, on its face, it would appear this is somewhat of a regular occurrence on the West Coast.

It's also emblematic of the ongoing border debate in this country -- don't even get us started on what's going down in Texas, where a raging conflict is reaching its boiling point.

Rick Harrison got a call from 2 of Donald Trump's sons after his own son, Adam Harrison, died from a fentanyl overdose.

A rep for the "Pawn Stars" patriarch tells TMZ ... Donald Jr. and Eric Trump reached out to Rick after learning of Adam's death. We're told the Trumps spoke to Rick on the phone to offer their condolences.

The Trump and Harrison families have a long relationship. Rick's been a vocal supporter of the former president for years -- at one point referring to himself as a "Trump guy."

When DT was in the White House, he and Rick met in September 2018 ... snapping a photo together with Rick's youngest son, Jake.

Even before the phone call, Don. Jr commented on Rick's tribute post to Adam, "I'm so sorry man."

TMZ broke the story ... Adam died last week from a drug overdose.

Rick told us fentanyl killed his 39-year-old son and added, "The fentanyl crisis in this country must be taken more seriously. It seems it is just flowing over the borders and nothing is being done about it. We must do better."

A cop who was racing to help Jim Irsay during the NFL owner's medical scare last month got a bit of an assist from Taylor Swift ... 'cause new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows the officer was blaring the popstar's music as he rushed to the emergency.

The scene was captured on a Carmel Police Dept. dash camera at around 4:30 AM back on Dec. 8 ... just after cops say someone had called 911 to report Irsay might have suffered a possible overdose at his Indiana home.

In the footage, you can see that right after the call was received ... a policeman turned on his overhead lights -- and his Swift tunes -- to try to get to Irsay's house as soon as possible.

The officer blew through stop signs, at least one red light ... and swerved in and out of lanes -- all while "Cruel Summer" poured out of his vehicle's speakers.

At one point, the cop appeared to reach a high rate of speed as Swift could be heard belting out, "He looks up grinning like a devil, it's new!"

The cop also tuned in to Kenya Grace's "Strangers" ... before he finally arrived at Irsay's residence.

Several other members of law enforcement -- including at least three other cops -- also showed up to help render aid ... though according to their dash cams, they had no music on while en route to the scene.

Cops said in a police report they ultimately found Irsay in his bed gasping for air. They said he had a weak pulse as well as constricted pupils ... and he didn't respond to a sternum rub.

However, according to the police docs, Irsay did respond "slightly" after Narcan -- a drug commonly used in opiate overdose situations -- had been administered. He was later transported to a nearby hotel, where he survived. Cops classified the incident as both "overdose" and "overdose/poisoning."

On Jan. 9, over a month after the scare, the Colts announced Irsay was dealing with a "severe respiratory illness." They added in a statement last week that Jim was still recovering from his respiratory ailment.

Barbie collectors can start counting the Benjamins, 'cause the movie's Oscar noms are about to blow up the Barbie resale market ... according to one toy expert.

We talked to "America's Toy Scout" Joel Magee -- a frequent "Pawn Stars" guest with more than 20 years experience in the collectibles world -- and he says he's expecting prices to just keep on climbing since the movie picked up 8 noms for this year's Academy Awards

JM says all the buzz around the movie and awards season is indoctrinating the young generation into collectible culture. So, whereas a few years ago the biggest buyer of Barbies might be your nostalgic Grandma Sue, it's now fashionable among the Gen Z crowd to buy Barbie.

And, Magee pulled out his magic 8 ball to make a prediction for us ... saying the mass producer of Barbie, Mattel, is really smart and loves its limited-edition drops -- so keep your eyes peeled for an Oscar-themed Barbie possibly hitting the market very soon.

Now, of course, Ryan Gosling was nominated for an Oscar while Margot Robbie missed out in the acting category, but Magee says the breadwinner has always been, and will remain, Barbie. Sorry, Ken.

Joel tells us collectors go out to buy different Barbies -- Astronaut Barbie, Doctor Barbie, Birthing Dog Barbie, etc. -- and they'll get the accompanying Ken to complete the set, but he's not the draw.

Translation: He's just Ken.

That said ... an Academy Award for Gosling will jack up those Ken prices -- Magee's talking doubling or tripling the value. And, if he's not Kenough for the voters, Joel still sees a 40 or 50% increase for the nomination alone. Cha-ching!!!

Magee's final piece of advice for collectors -- buy those limited-edition Barbies, like the Oscar Barbie he predicts could be coming down the pike.

King Charles III was hospitalized Friday in London to undergo a "corrective procedure" for his enlarged prostate – and he'll have another royal to keep him company while he's there.

Charles was admitted this morning to the London Clinic where the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, is currently resting after having stomach surgery. Following his arrival, the king paid a visit to the princess for a little bonding session.

Buckingham Palace – the United Kingdom's royal residence – released an official statement ... “The King was this morning admitted to a London hospital for scheduled treatment. His Majesty would like to thank all those who have sent their good wishes over the past week.''

The statement went on to say the king was "delighted to learn that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness" for those suffering from his condition.

Last week, the palace announced Charles would be having the medical procedure and postponing all public events for a short period as he recuperates.

In mid-January, Charles learned he had a benign, non-cancerous prostate enlargement after he went to a doctor for a check-up because he was experiencing "symptoms."

The father of singer-actor Harry Connick Jr. has died in Louisiana, according to the Associated Press.

Harry Connick Sr. passed away peacefully in his New Orleans home Thursday, the AP reported, although his cause of death was not disclosed. He was surrounded by his wife, Londa and two children, daughter Suzanna and his famous son Harry.

Connick Sr. was the New Orleans District Attorney for three decades, winning his first election in 1973 and unseating incumbent prosecutor Jim Garrison. He stayed as the city's D.A. for many years, getting reelected four times by developing biracial support among the city's politically powerful African American base.

After his retirement in 2003, Connick Sr. faced harsh criticism for allegedly hiding evidence that could have tipped the scales in favor of several defendants, who later had their convictions overturned.

In one case, John Thompson was exonerated for a murder he did not commit after 14 years on Louisiana's Death Row.

Thompson filed a lawsuit in state court against the New Orleans D.A.'s Office, accusing Connick Sr. of withholding key evidence that would have found him innocent at trial. The judge awarded Thompson $14 million, but the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the decision by a 5-4 vote.

In 2014, Connick Sr. again came under scrutiny when a judge tossed out the 1990 murder conviction of Reginald Adams.

Adams was released from prison after serving 34 years. His attorneys proved that Connick Sr. kept vital evidence under wraps during his trial.

Later, Adams sued the D.A.'s Office, agreeing to a $1.25 million settlement.

Over the years, Connick Sr. kept silent about his controversial reign as D.A., but he finally defended his legacy in a 2012 interview with The Times-Picayune.

He was 97.