TMZ.com Home

The Delta variant of COVID-19 seems to have stopped the Obamas in their tracks -- the ex-President's birthday bash has been canceled.

A rep for 44 broke the news Wednesday, saying the Obamas would not be hosting nearly 500 celebs and others with a staff of around 200. We're told the Obamas were planning the event for months, and struggled to make it COVID safe, but the Delta variant made it too dangerous ... especially because the CDC now says vaccinated people can spread the virus just as easily as non-vaccinated folks.

Now, the rep says it'll just be close friends and family in attendance -- no word on an actual headcount, but it sounds more intimate than crazy. They add on BO's behalf, "He's appreciative of others sending their birthday wishes from afar and looks forward to seeing people soon."

The party was supposedly going to be a who's-who of power brokers -- folks like Steven Spielberg, Oprah and George Clooney were expected to show (although Biden weirdly wasn't) ... and instead of gifts, Barack was asking folks to donate to programs supporting kids and people of color.

Rihanna's put in the work and she's got plenty o' Fenty money -- so much that she's officially a billionaire ... and then some!!!

According to Forbes ... the famous singer is now worth a whopping $1.7 billion -- making her the richest female musician in the world -- but most of it is not a result of her music.

Instead, Rihanna's 2017 launch of Fenty Beauty -- her real name is Robyn Fenty -- with a mission of being more inclusive of all women has been a huge success ... and grown into a cosmetics empire.

Forbes says the bulk of her fortune -- an estimated $1.4 billion -- comes from Fenty, of which she owns 50 percent. The rest is linked to her spin-off lingerie company, Savage x Fenty, and the remaining millions come from her music career.

Of course, Rihanna's beauty brand aspect makes you think of Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, who also reached billionaire status thanks to their cosmetics and fashion lines. Though, Kylie's story came with a little more controversy.

Either way, Rihanna's blown past them both, and according to Forbes is the world's second-richest female entertainer ... just behind Oprah.

Biz Markie held a special place in Barack and Michelle Obama's hearts, as evidenced by the words they shared with his widow ... which touched on a long-forgotten moment they shared in the run-up to the 2008 election.

Mrs. Biz ... Tara Hall herself, provided this copy of the letter the Obamas sent ... and it's way more personal than perhaps people might've expected. The poignant correspondence -- on the Obamas' new official letterhead -- begins, "We want to extend our heartfelt condolences to you as you reflect on Biz Markie's life."

Check out the letter for yourself -- BO and MO say that although they didn't know Biz as well as Tara did, he'd left a great impression on the couple as "one of rap's most innovative stylists and as a great man."

They added, "Biz Markie brightened every room he was in, and we will always appreciate him for his early support in 2008, bringing people together to 'Party With a Purpose' and get out the vote." Looks like Barack actually posed with Biz at one of those events.

The former first couple finished by saying Biz's legacy in hip hop will span generations, just like it had for 4 decades prior to his passing.

Michelle and Barack told Tara, "We hope you take comfort in all the fond memories you have with him. Please know that we are holding you, Averi, and your entire family in our thoughts and prayers."

Meghan Markle is waking up to tweets from the Royal family -- and nice ones -- wishing her a happy 40th birthday ... which, unfortunately, come off like calculated moves meant to keep up appearances.

The official Twitter accounts for Queen Elizabeth, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Charles and Camilla all fired off birthday wishes to the Duchess of Sussex ... accompanied by flattering photos of her and single emojis -- either the red balloon or birthday cake.

The Queen's official account fired off first with 3 pics of Meghan with the Queen in 2018, and 2 other photos of her and Prince Harry with their son, Archie, during their 2019 South Africa visit.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's account tweeted 4 minutes later with more pretty shots of Meghan from her Senior Royal days touring the world with Harry. And, because we know there are Royals fanatics counting these things -- both tweets ended with a single exclamation point.

Both tweets were straight to the point, without any flowery gushing or anything. Hey, they're British. Baby steps.

Now, Meg's father-in-law, Prince Charles and Camilla's tweet was a little different -- they went with a single close-up portrait of Meghan, and they ended with a boring-ass period. No exclamation, so they lose some style points.

Of course, the elephant in the room -- to which none of the messages referred -- is the giant rift between Meghan and Harry and the rest of the Royal family.

As we reported ... the Sussexes accused the Royals of racism earlier this year during their sit down with Oprah. -- including their claim multiple people in the fam were worried Archie's skin might be too dark.

Not that anyone's expecting them to squash all that over Twitter, but that's the painful reality for the whole Royal Family right now.

The Texas cop who mounted a Black teen didn't just get too close for comfort for the family, but perhaps too close for the CDC as well ... because the guy allegedly had COVID that day.

Nekia Trigg's family attorney, Kim T. Cole, tells TMZ ... the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office just got ahold of them to let both Nekia and her mother, Antanique Ray, know that Deputy Conner Martin had tested positive for the virus at the time of the altercation.

Cole says Antanique tested negative Monday, but they're still waiting on results for Nekia ... who just went in for a test herself on Tuesday.

Still, despite testing negative ... we're told Antanique lost 5 days of work because she quarantined until she got her test results back ... she's out a week's worth of income.

The KCSO declined to comment on Martin's condition.

It's just the latest setback for Nekia and co. -- remember, they had to essentially flee their home because of mounting death threats they say they'd been receiving in the wake of the dustup. Not just that, but Antanique still has criminal charges to deal with over the incident.

NHL star Evander Kane didn't cheat on his now estranged wife with his model ex-girlfriend -- instead, folks close to him claim he only reunited with Mara Teigen after his marriage blew up.

Sources close to Evander and Mara tell TMZ ... Anna Kane has her timeline mixed up, because they insist Evander and Mara weren't seeing each other during his marriage. We're told they definitely rekindled their flame, but only in the wake of Anna's July 16 divorce filing.

We're told the San Jose Sharks star and Mara reconnected on social media after not speaking for more than 6 years ... and their now infamous trip to Europe was completely spontaneous.

Our sources say Mara's denying being a homewrecker, and they also claim Evander did NOT abandon his family, despite what his estranged wife has alleged.

We're told Evander's moved out of the home he shared with Anna, and is telling people around him he's been blocked from seeing his daughter -- presumably by Anna.

As we reported ... Evander also claims his estranged wife was straight-up lying when she accused him of betting on the sport -- which could get him in big trouble with the league -- and he's trying to keep their divorce civil.

Anna also claimed Evander's a deadbeat dad who refuses to provide for their daughter, but our sources say EK definitely wants to see her and loves her very much.

Missouri-born actor Mykelti Williamson has had a long and prosperous career in the film and TV industry but he's best known for his role as Benjamin Buford Blue ... AKA "Bubba" -- the all-knowing shrimp expert and best friend from Bayou La Batre, Alabama who tragically dies in the Vietnam War -- in the 1994 masterpiece "Forrest Gump."

Mykelti shared the big screen with some incredibly talented artists including Gary Sinise as the free-flowing platoon leader, Lieutenant Dan Taylor ... and of course Tom Hanks as the Alabama football star, Vietnam vet, ping-pong pro, shrimp boat captain, cross-country marathon runner and father, Forrest Gump.

Williamson continues to work in Hollywood and is credited with some big-time TV roles including "Chicago P.D.," "Lethal Weapon," "CSI: NY" and "24."

Pamela Anderson is out of the 'Bu ... because TMZ has learned she just sold her Malibu estate.

The house -- located in the celebrity-riddled Malibu Colony -- sold for $11.8 million. Turns out the sale may now be in the record books for the Colony. The price breaks down to more than $4,000 a square foot.

The house is 2,700 square feet and the best part may be the incredible backyard with a great pool and guest house. The house has 4 bedrooms and the entire house is sustainably sourced -- courtesy of Pam.

Tomer Fridman from Compass had the listing.

As for the buyer, well, if you're familiar with Kreiss furniture ... the heir to that fortune scooped it up. The new owners -- Loren and Kate Kreiss -- were repped by Sandro Dazzan from The Agency.

Britney Spears just told a long, bizarre story about getting locked in her bathroom in the middle of the night ... and it's eyebrow-raising for sure.

The pop star just shared her wild bathroom adventure, explaining how she got trapped in there in the first place and detailing the lengths to which she and others went to set her free.

Britney says she got distracted by some leftover coffee on a hunt for some face wash before realizing she was locked inside. She says her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, was fast asleep and she had to scream 4 times to wake him up.

When Sam's attempts to pick the lock failed, Britney says she was able to call security to come open the door ... but it sounds like they were asleep just like Sam.

Britney says another 45 minutes went by before she was finally freed, but only after drinking her stale coffee.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, including employees in his office, according to New York's Attorney General.

NY A.G. Letitia James announced the results of her investigation Tuesday, and said the NY Governor had sexually harassed former and current employees from 2013 to 2020 -- and had even retaliated against an ex-employee who reported allegations.

According to the report ... the sexual harassment included unwanted and inappropriate groping, kissing, hugging and comments that were "deeply humiliating, uncomfortable, offensive or inappropriate."

James says Cuomo and his office fostered a "toxic" workplace that enabled "harassment to occur." The AG's probe took 5 months, and found Cuomo and his senior staff intended to discredit and disparage at least one of his accusers.

The report's bottom line is Cuomo's actions violated multiple state and federal laws ... not to mention the Executive Chamber's own written policies.

The allegations first surfaced in December 2020 with multiple women coming forward. Investigators say nearly 200 individuals were interviewed and investigators combed through more than 74,000 documents, emails, texts and pictures.

As part of the investigation ... Cuomo was interviewed and the A.G.'s office says Cuomo gave "blanket denials" or didn't recall specific incidents.

The AG's investigators say his denials stand in stark contrast to the corroborating evidence and credible witnesses they found through the course of the investigation.

New York's 2 U.S. Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, have called on Cuomo to resign ... as have other Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Fetty Wap was emotional when he asked his fans to pay tribute to his late 4-year-old daughter ... soliciting them to post butterfly pics as a way of honoring her life.

The rapper held a picture of his young daughter, Lauren Maxwell, and kissed it during a brief Instagram Live session ... calling her "my shorty." Fetty asked his followers to do him a solid by posting butterflies in the comments section.

They heeded his request ... butterflies popped up all over the place. Fetty said Lauren loved butterflies, despite her insistence she was actually a mermaid.

As we reported ... Lauren's mother, Turquoise Miami, confirmed over the weekend Lauren had passed away. Turquoise posted on Instagram a Boomerang video of Lauren smiling in a swimming pool.

The cause of death has not been disclosed.

In a separate post ... Turquoise addressed her co-parenting situation with Fetty, saying it had improved and that they "came to a better place" for the sake of Lauren.

Jenna Dewan claims she was "without a partner" after giving birth, but Channing Tatum did everything he could to make sure his wife and baby were fully taken care of and safe -- even when he couldn't be there physically ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the former couple tell us Jenna's recent comments about Channing not being "available" in the weeks after delivering their daughter, Everly, have been misconstrued ... and don't convey what actually went down after she gave birth.

In a recent episode of Dear Media's "Dear Gabby" podcast, Dewan opened up about her postpartum anxiety after giving birth to Everly, her daughter with her now ex-husband, Channing. Jenna says, "I had to travel with her and at the time, Chan wasn't available to be with us for the most part."

She continues, "I was breastfeeding. I was pumping. I was without a partner. I mean, it was just craziness."

Sources close to the former couple tell us they were living in London -- while Channing shot "Jupiter Ascending" -- when Jenna gave birth. Six weeks later, Jenna was needed in Vancouver for a project she booked while she was pregnant.

We're told Channing chartered a private plane for Jenna, Everly and a doula -- and rented out a nice home in the city -- to make sure everyone was safe and comfortable.

Our sources say once "Jupiter Ascending" moved from London to Chicago, he traveled to Vancouver as much as he could, sometimes making less than 24-hour trips just to get in as much time as possible with Jenna and their newborn.

Channing has certainly been a doting dad over the years, even writing a children's book inspired by his daughter. In an interview before she was born, Channing said he went to YouTube to figure out how to braid a girl's hair to make sure he was prepared to be the best dad he could be.

T.I. says cops in Amsterdam busted him over a bike incident involving an officer -- but he says they never put handcuffs on him, and he's already out of jail after posting bail.

The rapper recorded a video Tuesday while he says he was in custody in Amsterdam. According to T.I., he was riding his bicycle and didn't stop when crossing the street. He says instead ... he kept going and his handlebar broke off a cop's side mirror.

What are the chances??? Still, Tip's taking it in stride ... you can tell in the video, it's probably the chillest anyone's ever been while dealing with the police. He says the cops were chill too, and escorted him to the backseat of their car without ever taking out their cuffs.

It seems he was quickly released ... 'cause T.I. later went on Instagram Live and said he wasn't even tripping about the incident. When a friend of his called the incident "bulls**t" ... T.I. quickly responded saying it wasn't and that "everybody has a bad morning."

Some fans sitting outside a nearby joint recognized him and asked for a picture. The rapper pulled up and sat right next to them and ordered drinks.

It's only been 24 days since Conor McGregor shattered his left leg during the Dustin Poirier trilogy fight ... but The Notorious is already standing on the busted limb.

TMZ Sports has obtained a photo of McGregor outside of a Beverly Hills hotel ... rocking a walking boot, standing while chatting with a friend.

We're told shortly after the photo was taken, McGregor sat on his scooter and rode into the hotel gym -- where he put himself through a workout.

It's pretty damn impressive ... considering the injury only happened at UFC 264 on July 10.

Of course, Conor broke his left tibia and fibula ... and required a titanium rod, plate and screws to hold his shattered leg together.

Since the surgery the day after the fight, we've seen Conor do everything from working out to jamming out at a Justin Bieber concert (the 2 men also chilled together poolside).

To compare, Tiger Woods -- who also broke his tibia and fibula (amongst other injuries to the leg) in a February 23 car crash -- was still using crutches 155 days after his accident.

A few flight attendants are temporarily relieved of duty after their bosses at Frontier Airlines deemed that duct taping an unruly passenger to his seat might have crossed a line.

Check out this insane video that was captured Saturday on a Frontier flight from Philly to Miami ... in which a young guy is seen losing it on passengers, yelling at them that his parents are worth $2 mil and other bizarre ramblings. He's cussing out the flight attendants as well, who were trying to calm him down.

Eventually, he gets into a scuffle with a male flight attendant ... and he's finally restrained to a seat with a ton of duct tape. The rest of the passengers were cheering his detainment.

As for what exactly led up to all this ... the guy's name is Max Berry, and he reportedly emerged from the lavatory shirtless after he'd spilled a drink on himself. As some attendants helped him get a new shirt from his bag, he allegedly went around groping some female attendants' breasts, and things escalated to where the clip starts.

He was arrested and booked on several charges upon landing, but Frontier says it also suspended some of the flight crew in question as an investigation gets underway.

This isn't the first time we've seen passengers held down in this way -- it happened earlier this year on an American Airlines flight where a woman appeared to be having a breakdown.

Gigi Hadid put her supermodel status on the back burner, if you will, and became a total fangirl when she got to meet, and work with, the one and only "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro!!!

Jersey's other Boss joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us about his baking experience with Gigi, who happens to be one of his biggest fans.

Buddy says she literally started crying when they met, and he was blown away by how much she knew about his show -- and cake decorating -- when they got together to create a tasty treat.

The "Cake Boss," has a new series on Food Network and Discovery+ -- "Buddy vs. Duff: Baker Battle" -- and he says fans will see how much better his surgically repaired hand is doing ... nearly a year after his horrific bowling incident.