TMZ.com Home

Pete Buttigieg is firing back at Rush Limbaugh's homophobic remarks with poise and class -- and interestingly enough ... he's got Steve Bannon supporting him here.

Mayor Pete went on CNN Sunday to talk about the campaign, Nevada, polls and attracting voters of color -- but he was also given the opportunity to respond to the conservative radio host's recent controversial POV ... that Trump would easily defeat a gay opponent.

PB was pretty measured, but also firm. He says he loves his husband, Chasten, and doesn't care who knows it. More importantly, he won't take family advice from someone like Rush -- who says Pete seems to enjoy making a show out of kissing a man on stage.

Pete corrects the record there as well -- telling Dana Bash he usually just hugs Chasten.

As we've reported ... DT himself has actually taken the opposite stance, saying he doesn't think Pete being gay would affect voters all that much -- and certainly shouldn't hurt his electability.

Welp, as it turns out ... Trump's old campaign pal, Steve Bannon, feels the exact same way. We got him out in NYC as he was leaving the FOX News studio and asked him about it. You gotta watch this for yourself because Steve is incredibly strong in his statement to us.

Elton John struggled to power through his performance Saturday night, but eventually, he was forced to throw in the towel due to a bad case of walking pneumonia.

Sir Elton performed in Auckland and made it clear to the crowd ... he was hurting. Nevertheless, he performed until he couldn't. He had already performed for about 1.5 hours.

Check out the video ... Elton sounds really good as he performs "Tiny Dancer," but eventually he just couldn't continue. The crowd was with him all the way, giving him a standing O as he left the stage ... clearly upset.

Elton later apologized, "I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia earlier today, but I was determined to give you the best show humanly possible. I played and sang my heart out, until my voice could sing no more. I'm disappointed, deeply upset and sorry. I gave it all I had."

Jussie Smollett's alleged accomplices in staging a hate crime are speaking on camera for the first time since Jussie was hit with felony charges again ... and they're practically pleading for him to come clean.

The Osundairo brothers -- Abel and Ola -- were leaving Fina Estampa restaurant in Chicago Friday afternoon when they opened up about Jussie ... and how they feel about the whole debacle.

Ola starts by telling us they are praying for Jussie to "build up the courage to finally tell the truth" ... clearly implying they're sticking to their story -- that it was all a hoax perpetrated by Smollett.

Abel, who's walking with his brother and their lawyer, Gloria Schmidt, goes on to say the brothers feel remorseful for being involved in the incident and causing people pain ... especially real victims of hate crimes who may have been marginalized because of what they did.

As we reported ... Jussie's facing a new 6-count indictment for allegedly lying to law enforcement about his "attack" back in January 2019. He also still has to deal with the City of Chicago's lawsuit against him for around $500k in investigative costs.

The strip club cavalry has arrived in Chicago with THOUSANDS of dancers, literally, making sure NBA superstars and fans are well entertained during All-Star Weekend!!!

The good folks at Ocean Gentleman's Club, Factory and Club O tell TMZ Sports ... they've hired Last Coast Entertainment to promote events at all the clubs this weekend. We're told that means 3,000 strippers will be swarming around poles all over Chi-town.

The forecast calls for some serious rain, because we're told each club will have $450,000 in single dollar bills on deck each day for customers -- NBA and otherwise -- to spend on the dancers. The clubs are ready to bring in the Brinks trucks too, if they need even more Washingtons.

As for who's leading all this fun ... Offset will be front and center hosting an epic after-party Sunday at Ocean Gentleman's Club, following the All-Star Game. Also, Kid Capri's hosed that club's Saturday night bash.

The clubs also tell us they already have 10 tables reserved each night, exclusively for NBA ballers -- and their kitchens will be working OT to serve up lamb chops, burgers, wings and shrimp. BIG dudes have BIG appetites!

BTW, NBA All-Star Weekend is like an annual Super Bowl for the strippers ... so there's high-demand to get work in the host cities each year. We're told the dancers have to fork over $300 to $350 per night to a club just to get their high heels in the door.

Other gentlemen's clubs around Chicago -- like Scores and Rick's Cabaret -- are adopting NBA themes. Dancers will wear basketball uniforms, to start anyway, and of course, there will be VIP sections just for NBA studs.

Rick Fox, like so many others, is having a hard time processing the loss of Kobe Bryant.

We got Rick at the NBA Crossover event in Chicago Saturday during NBA All-Star Weekend, and he's clearly still hurting. You'll recall his emotional words on TNT a week ago.

Rick makes it clear ... Kobe's death is a blow to so many in a very personal way, but there's also a global factor -- Kobe was a worldwide celebrity and on the precipice of starting a second chapter that could have been as awesome as his first.

Rick shared some memories of Kobe ... riding on the team bus with him as Kobe talked about his "otherworldly plans."

When our photog asks Rick what Kobe would have done over the next 20 or 30 years, you see him get visibly emotional.

Rick played for the Lakers between 1997 and 2004 and won 3 championships with the team. Kobe played from 1996 to 2016. The 2 were teammates for 8 years.

A reboot of "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" without Rick Moranis would be like cereal without milk, it wouldn't be right ... according to the woman who played his daughter in the original movies.

Amy O'Neill played Amy Szalinski in the theatrical releases and tells TMZ ... the reboot would have been incomplete without Rick agreeing to return. Amy says without him ... the new production just couldn't work.

Josh Gad is reportedly the star attached to the film -- with original director Joe Johnston also returning -- but Amy told us why Rick's flair was the critical ingredient.

Something else she's fired up about is seeing the new special effects. Remember, when "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" was first released in 1989, its special FX were considered cutting-edge. She says the green screen the film used back in the day was the largest of its kind at the time. More than 30 years later ... she can't even imagine what kinda technology will be used to pull it off this time. She's champing at the bit to see it, though.

Conor McGregor WILL get a victory in a rematch with Khabib ... so says Becky Lynch, who tells TMZ Sports she believes Conor's got a whole new strategy for The Eagle!!

"I think he's been working," the WWE superstar says. "You saw it in the last fight. He's got a new game plan, his head is firmly in it and I think he wins it."

Becky admits she is biased -- she's from Ireland, after all -- and tells us, "Of course I'm going to say me countryman!"

But, The Man clearly believes Conor's got a real shot regardless.

"I think he's got that dedication," Becky says. "He backs it up, man. He backs it up."

The last time Conor and Khabib squared off in the Octagon ... things didn't go so well for the Notorious, who lost after he tapped out in the 4th round.

And, it remains to be seen if Khabib will even get in the cage a second time with Conor ... he just said earlier this month he wouldn't fight McGregor again for $100 MILLION!!!

Hidden within this warped photo is an actor and filmmaker that is not as quiet off-screen. This talented star won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Sci-Fi/Horror movie last year for a film he directed and co-wrote, he also starred in this film alongside his wife.

This celeb is also known for an iconic character he played in a certain television show he starred in on NBC. The award-winning comedy housed big names such as Steve Carell, Jenna Fisher, and Angela Kinsey!

Bikini model Liziane Gutierrez is getting out of her bubble -- ditching the glamorous life for the bump-and-grind of basketball, and she has King James on the brain ... and her cheeks.

The Brazilian poser and a gal pal had no problem choosing sides for the NBA All-Star Game, which is going down this weekend in Chicago. Liziane took on her friend in a game of hoops -- in MUCH-shorter shorts than the pros -- and just to keep it real, they made their allegiances known.

Liziane took an L on her butt for team LeBron James, while her friend's a straight G ... for Team Giannis Antetokounmpo. Those are the actual teams competing in Chi-town.

Anyway, check out the pics of their game -- it was truly a thong o' beauty. No word on who won. Luckily, we know you don't really care.

Jessica Alba's good looks are hard not to love!

Here is a 16-year-old version of the "Valentine's Day" star rockin' this pixie cut at a movie premiere in Los Angeles, CA back in 1998 (left).

And 22 years later ... The now 38-year-old actress was last spotted looking better than ever at the Vanity Fair party in Beverly Hills, CA just last week (right).

Alba's actively working on new products for her brand, The Honest Company, and has also been busy working on a new show, "L.A.'s Finest", where she stars alongside Gabrielle Union.

L.A.'s finest indeed!

The question is ...

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is making sure Kobe Bryant goes down in history with the league right away -- renaming the All-Star MVP award after the late Laker legend.

The commish made the announcement Saturday at a press conference in front of the press, first discussing how Kobe and ex-commissioner David Stern -- who himself passed away this year -- were so much alike in their attitudes, goals and approaches to the game.

Adam says both Kobe and Stern prioritized winning -- and, often, neither of them had time for the niceties that come with fostering relationships because they were so hyper-focused.

He went on to list some of Kobe's personal achievements in the NBA -- including setting the record for 18 consecutive All-Star appearances, 4 All-Star MVP Awards and his famous Slam Dunk Contest appearance in 1997 ... for which he took home the 1st place prize.

Then came the big news ... the NBA is changing the name of All-Star MVP Award, now calling it the Kobe Bryant MVP Award. Adam says he's sure whoever wins it on Sunday after the All-Star game will be thrilled. He also noted it was just one of the ways the league would be honoring Kobe going forward -- David will also be honored in the future.

Besides the big name change, AS also said one small way the league wanted to remember Kobe and David was putting their photos on the back of media credentials this year.

Justin Bieber seems to see himself in Billie Eilish -- whom he says he wants to protect at all costs from going through the same sort of hell he did as a rising child star.

Biebs sat down with Beats 1's Zane Lowe for a new interview to plug his new album, "Changes," and during the convo ... Billie was brought up. Justin says he wants to let her do her thing, but also notes ... if she ever needs him, he's just a phone call away.

JB even tears up talking about her, adding that he wants to protect her and shelter her from the sorts of experiences he went through growing up. It's incredibly touching.

As you know ... Justin's been through a lot over the years, including arrests, lawsuits, self-admitted substance abuse, depression, relationship woes ... and on and on.

The honest moment certainly caught Billie's eye -- she captured a snippet of the interview and posted it to her own Instagram ... adding photos of her when she was younger, which show she was a huge Bieber fan. Clearly, the love here goes both ways.

As for Billie -- who's got an older brother, Finneas, navigating the music industry with her -- she's a rock star right now, and at the young age of 18 to boot. BE has racked up several Grammys already for her debut album, and is heading up the new Bond theme song.

In any case, it would appear she appreciates Justin looking out for her. She captioned her post, "stream changes." Both the interview and the new album are on Apple Music, and streaming platforms everywhere.

'Bachelor' contestant Victoria F is finally addressing a controversy that's been dogging her for a minute now -- issuing a mea culpa for being part of a 'White Lives Matter' campaign.

The model -- who's currently still in the running for Peter Weber's final rose -- took to social media Saturday with a Notes-written apology for her eyebrow-raising shoot, which she posted on her Instagram story. It says, "I would like to sincerely apologize for my involvement with We Love Marlins. My intention was only to support an endangered species."

She continues in her post, "I want to say that I unequivocally reject the beliefs of the white lives matter movement or any propaganda that supports racism of any kind. I would like to specifically apologize to people of color that are affected by racism daily."

VF finished by saying, "It was never my intention to add fuel to the racial fire in this country. This has truly been an educational moment for me and I hope to be a voice against racism moving forward. I hope I can be shown grace as I navigate through this process."

The timing of her apology is interesting ... as we reported and as 'Bachelor' nation now knows, Victoria is in the final four group of girls who are taking Pete to their hometown.

We knew about the 'WLM' campaign -- which was meant to be a 'BLM' pun to raise awareness about over-fishing white Marlin -- but it went unaddressed as the show continued. About a week ago, however, Cosmo scrapped Victoria from their digital cover because of it.

Keanu Reeves is back as The One for the upcoming 'Matrix' movie -- but oddly enough ... his new Neo looks a lot like another action hero he's been playing lately, to much acclaim.

TMZ obtained new photos of Keanu, Carrie-Anne Moss (who played Trinity) and director Lana Wachowski on the set of "The Matrix 4," which has been filming in San Francisco these past couple weeks or so. These latest pics were shot Friday in the Financial District.

You can see Keanu here, and it looks like Lana and co. have Mr. Anderson rocking a fresh look we're not used to when it comes to Neo -- who was clean-cut in the OG flicks. Now, The One has a striking resemblance to the widowed hitman John Wick. Like, to a T.

He's got the same shoulder-length hair JW has, and the same messy beard too. Shoot, Neo's even got the same dark outfits John wears -- although, Neo did it first, technically.

Other shots of Keanu on set have surfaced lately, and it seems to confirm Lana's got Neo in a bummy state within the Matrix. Who knows what his "real-world" appearance will be.

Even cooler than seeing Keanu back in action ... getting a glimpse of Carrie-Anne on set, who's reprising her role as Neo's love interest. We're told she too was on set Friday, and we got a shot of her with her back to the camera, sporting her signature short hair.

Oh, and Keanu's girlfriend, Alexandra Grant, was spotted hanging around as well. Supporting her man, it seems.

Now, we're told this latest scene consisted of a SWAT team going in and out of a building -- with a black SUV parked out front under green neon lighting. Very 'Matrix'-esque, right?!

Still no sign of any of the other stars who've been tied to the project, including Jada Pinkett, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II ... or Laurence Fishburne.

Barack Obama says the loss of Kobe Bryant and his daughter hit extra-close to home because he himself, as a father, has been a champion of his own kids in and out of sports.

44 spoke Saturday at a brunch hosted by the NBA for All-Star weekend, and while talking to a room full of journalists ... BO said he knew Kobe's death was still fresh on the minds of several people in the NBA family -- and rightly so, as he too seemed stunned by it.

In a video posted by CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Barack says ... "That loss is something that I know many are still grappling with -- particularly, Kobe because he was with his daughter and those families and those children. And, those of us who have had the joy and privilege of being parents, and taking our kids to ball games, and rooting for our children and then seeing our dreams and hopes passed on to them ... nothing is more heartbreaking."

He goes on to offer his and Michelle's condolences to the NBA family, not just over Kobe but also for former NBA commissioner David Stern -- who died of a stroke earlier this year.

At the time of Kobe's death, Obama remembered him with kind words too ... writing, "Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day."

Kobe was 41. His daughter, Gianna, was just 13.

Wendi Williams, the woman whose reclined seat was repeatedly punched by a passenger on an American Airlines flight, is ready to pick another fight ... this time with the airline!!!

Wendi tells us she met with an attorney Friday to discuss legal options she can take against AA ... and she's threatening the airline with a defamation lawsuit!

Williams is bristling over what an American Airlines rep told TMZ -- that the whole seat-reclining incident started when she first reclined and knocked over the other passenger's drink. Wendi claims it never happened. BTW, even if she did, it would have been an accident and no big deal.

She believes she was slandered when AA accused her of being disruptive, spilling a drink and also all the things that the flight attendant said to her on the plane -- that she was the bad person in the dispute -- all defamatory, Williams says. BUT ... she's not interested in suing the passenger, although she's told us she'd like to see him prosecuted for assault.

Wendi also claims she was respectful to everyone else on the plane and didn't make a scene. Remember, she previously told us a flight attendant handed her a passenger disturbance notice for refusing to delete her video of the man behind her punching her chair.

As for the reclining-seat debate ... Wendi says the airlines should be the ones determining if it's an issue, not fellow passengers.

Wendi's also got another threat for AA ... telling us, "They have pushed me way too far, literally and figuratively." Them's fighting words ... as in lawsuit.

AA's drawing its own line in the sand ... a source at the airline tells us Wendi reached out Tuesday asking for compensation, but she won't see any money because AA sees this as a passenger vs. passenger dispute.

We're also told AA won't be referring the incident to authorities, and it's up to Wendi if she wants to go down that road.