Celebrity Feuds

There's nothing fake about the hostility between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier -- so says UFC honcho Dana White ... who says the hatred these guys have for each other was definitely NOT concocted for publicity.

Dana -- skyping in from his PRIVATE JET -- joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 ... and was asked straight up if the feud between the fighters was cooked up by the UFC to help sell tickets.

But Dana shut that down fast -- explaining, "They obviously respect each other as fighters but as human beings they completely dislike each other."

You gotta watch the entire interview Wednesday on FS1 -- we also asked if he felt Cormier crossed the line when he called Jones a "drug addict."

Oh, and he also told us about the sick in-flight meal on his private jet.

#ItsGoodToBeTheBoss

Daniel Cormier took things personal with Jon Jones Wednesday morning -- calling him a drug addict to his face ... and threatening to "beat that ass" at UFC 200.

Cormier was responding to Jones -- who had asked Daniel what he'll say to his kids if they ever ask, "Daddy, did you ever beat Jon 'Bones' Jones?"

Cormier essentially said he didn't HAVE to beat Jones to get his championship belt because Jones eliminated himself by testing positive for cocaine.

FYI -- Jones has said he's NOT an addict ... but admits he made a "really dumb decision" before the drug test for UFC 182 last year.

The back-and-forth between these guys is nasty ... and multiple people in the UFC tell us the hatred is 100% legit.

Wladimir Klitschko just told boxing superstar Tyson Fury to go F HIMSELF -- trashing Fury over recent homophobic and sexist comments ... and saying he disrespected Elton John.

Klitschko was doing a media event in England to promote his rematch with Fury -- he blasted the boxer ... saying the sport needs a champion it can respect, not a bigot like Fury.

"What comes out of Fury's mouth ... disrespectful," Klitschko said ... before summing up the comments Fury spewed out of his mouth in 2015.

"That all homosexual men and women and pedophiles belong in the same place, jail ... that women belong in the kitchen and on their back."

"So, that's basically where [Fury] sees Elton John and The Queen."

Then Klitschko delivered this message -- "To people that say and think the same way out there ... and to you, Fury ... I want to say, 'F*** OFF!'"

For his part, Fury insists he's not a homophobe or sexist. But Klitschko just ain't buyin' it.

Michael Strahan's getting the hell outta dodge months earlier than anticipated -- instead of staying at 'Live' through the summer, he'll be gone in just over 2 weeks.

Sources connected to the show tell us Michael's last day will be Friday, May 13. We're told an internal memo went around to the show staff Tuesday morning ... just as Kelly Ripa finally returned to the show.

The memo reads: "After meeting with the producers of both 'Live' and "Good Morning America," and after speaking with Kelly and Michael, we have decided on a plan that best advantages both shows for the future."

"To that end, Michael's last day on 'Live' will be Friday, May 13, which not only gives the show the chance to have an appropriate send off for him during the May sweeps, but to also immediately give Kelly and the producers an opportunity to begin the on-air search for a new co-host."

When Strahan's move to 'GMA' was announced, Disney said he'd be at 'Live' through August -- but that was before Ripa staged her protest.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports he's still working to get Nate Diaz to fight at UFC 200 in July -- and says Diaz can essentially fight anyone he wants ... with one giant Irish exception.

"Obviously, I would like to keep Nate [in 200]," White told us outside of Mastro's in Bev Hills Monday night ... "Nate stands to make a lot of money in 200, I'd like to keep him in 200, but that's up to him."

Dana says Nate's not even mad that the whole Conor McGregor super fight fell apart -- insisting Diaz is "actually pretty cool about it."

"This is a fight that Conor was really obsessed with and Conor wanted this fight and Nate was like ... whatever."

So, what's the plan? Dana says the ball is in Diaz's court.

Jumping ship from 'Live' was an easy call for Michael Strahan ... he wanted to work where his co-host wasn't tormenting him.

Sources connected with the production tell us, Michael had his fill of Kelly Ripa long before the 'GMA' opportunity surfaced. Sources say Kelly couldn't stand the fact that he stole some of her shine. Strahan became an instant star and got lots of attention, and we're told she hated it.

One source says it got to a point where she was "bullying" him, although on camera you couldn't tell. But another source says the notion Kelly was bullying Michael is "a joke."

The 'GMA' job gives Strahan more money, a group of co-hosts he likes and who like him, and the right to continue his sports stuff. He also wants to grow beyond interviewing celebrities.

As we reported, after Strahan broke the news to Kelly he texted her Tuesday, trying to create an atmosphere where they could co-exist for the duration of his time on 'Live.' We're told she did not respond until Saturday, and it was "short and superficial."

Tomi Lahren, the web anchor who went viral for bashing Beyonce's Super Bowl performance, won't bow down to Queen Bey ... she's refusing to license her clip for Bey's Formation world tour.

Beyonce's camp sent a letter to Tomi and TheBlaze, the network that produces Tomi's show, asking for the rights to use the first 30 seconds of her rant.

The letter was sent late last month, stating they'd probably only use Tomi's audio but video was a possibility as well. Tomi's answer was short and sweet -- no.

Tomi received death threats over her blistering comments about Bey's black power halftime show. For those who missed it ... she's argued Bey ripped off the historical band-aid on America's civil rights movement by promoting the Black Panthers, which Tomi called a terrorist group.

Someone needs to give Tomi a lesson about PR ... it's almost always good.

Kelly Ripa will be back Tuesday on 'Live' ... TMZ has learned ... this after her people jawboned it with Disney over the fate of her show and the tenure of her co-host.

Our ABC sources say Kelly's people made it clear she would come back if they could get assurance the show wasn't getting the ax. As we reported, ABC honchos are noodling whether to add a third hour of 'GMA,' which would displace 'Live.'

From what we can gather, the brass gave Kelly enough assurance to end her boycott. Based on what we know, even Disney doesn't know if they'll expand 'GMA.' A lot depends on morning show ratings and the performance of 'Live' over the next year.

Even if 'GMA' moves to 9 ... ABC could save 'Live' by moving it to 10 or 11 AM.

Our ABC sources say Kelly made it clear she'd be a happy camper if Michael Strahan leaves before his scheduled September departure. Our sources say both Kelly and Michael are extremely uncomfortable about sitting together under the circumstances, and they'd both like to stop the bleeding STAT.

As we reported, the 2 have not gotten along for 2 years ... various sources say they don't like each other.

Here's Nate Diaz stating facts about Conor McGregor at the UFC 200 news conference in Vegas ... and it's pretty damn hilarious.

Conor was a no-show at the event -- as he said he would be -- but still had a very strong presence at the event ... when he tweeted from his training camp in Iceland.

"Everyone flew in. Respect. But not everyone up there made the company 400 million in 8 months."

Nate was asked to respond to the tweet -- and gave the ultimate Nate Diaz response, "Conor got his ass beat."

Dana White also chimed in ... saying McGregor is officially out at UFC 200, just as TMZ Sports reported Thursday.

11:07 AM PT -- Sources tell TMZ Birdman has apologized to DJ Envy since the incident this morning.

Birdman came ready for war when he walked into a radio interview ... then dropped a bunch of threats on "The Breakfast Club" hosts before storming out of their studio.

It was a bizarre scene Friday morning -- the Cash Money CEO strolled in with at least 6 or 7 dudes, and immediately blurted out, "Stop playing with my f**king name!" He went on to tell Charlamagne tha God he was gonna handle their beef in the streets, but decided to do it face-to-face instead.

The backstory: Birdman's pissed Charlamagne, Angela Yee and DJ Envy and their guests clown him about not paying his artists ... a la Lil Wayne.

Kylie Jenner and Blac Chyna's war came to an end when big sis Kim Kardashian stepped in to play peacemaker.

Sources close to Blac Chyna tell TMZ she got a call from Kim several weeks ago to hash out the drama over her and Rob Kardashian's engagement. Chyna obliged and went to Kim's pad for the sit-down.

We're told they both agreed there was no reason for family beef over Rob and Chyna getting hitched -- since the more important point was Rob being happy, and getting out of the house again.

The peace summit also covered Tyga -- y'know, the fact he's dating Kylie and is also Chyna's baby daddy. We're told Kim made it clear the time was right for the ladies to chat.

A few days later Kylie and Chyna talked on the phone, which led to Thursday's face-swapping Snapchat session -- and an agreement to squash all beef.

Regis Philbin still has Kelly Ripa's back ... he says his old co-host got the shaft in the whole Michael Strahan deal.

Regis spoke to photogs in NYC and made it clear Kelly should've gotten a heads up about Disney's plan to move Strahan from 'Live' to 'GMA.' It's an interesting perspective ... since Philbin famously told Kelly about HIS departure at the last minute.

Kelly Ripa may be saber-rattling -- boycotting the show and even threatening to leave -- but sources connected with the production don't believe she's going anywhere, because of her paycheck and her spending habits.

As we reported, Kelly has been beside herself with anger after getting blindsided by ABC's announcement that Michael Strahan is leaving 'Live' for 'GMA.' If she's not back in the chair Thursday, she won't be back until Tuesday at the earliest.

Our sources say ABC brass isn't worried that Ripa will bail on the show. We're told she makes just shy of $15 million a year, and her lifestyle eats up most of it. Kelly and hubby Mark bought a big townhouse on the Upper East Side of NYC a year ago, and they have a mansion in The Hamptons.

As one source put it, "She makes a lot of money, but she spends a lot of money, and so does he."

Kelly Ripa is up for an epic fight with ABC ... at least that's what we're reading into what she's reading.

Kelly and hubby Mark Consuelos left their Upper East Side townhouse Thursday, as she clutched a copy of Malcolm Gladwell's book, 'David and Goliath.' The book -- which btw is outstanding -- is a primer on how underdogs took on the powerful and emerged victorious.

Kelly was a no-show for the second day on 'Live,' and she and Mark are going on vacation ... reportedly to Turks and Caicos.

The earliest she'll be back on the show is Tuesday, but don't count on it. She does not want to be near Michael Strahan.

Conor McGregor says he is NOT retired -- still wants to fight at UFC 200 -- and blasted the UFC saying he's paid to fight, not to promote.

DJ Quik challenged Kanye West to get his head out of Kim Kardashian's vagina and start making better music.

Quik's rant happened on Noah Ayala's radio show -- he unloaded on Kanye's 'Life of Pablo' album ... saying fans aren't stupid and can spot a bad product.

Quik, who's promoting his new album, "Rosecrans," claims he wasn't trying to diss Yeezus, but watch the clip ... seems pretty diss-y. Decide for yourself.