Celebrity Feuds

A couple of Joe Exotic's former zookeepers are as loyal as ever -- recently getting together after years apart ... partly in the name of cheering Carole Baskin's reality TV demise.

Saff Saffery and John Reinke -- who starred in 'Tiger King' and used to care for the cats at Joe's GW Zoo -- met up for the first time in nearly 3 years out in Rockford, IL ... where they're set to star in an ad for Insurance King, opposite 'Diff'rent Strokes' actor Todd Bridges.

While hanging out Monday ahead of Tuesday's shoot, they happened to catch the results of this week's episode of 'Dancing with the Stars' ... including Carole's elimination after surviving a few weeks now. Check out how they reacted to the news -- old rivalries are alive and well!

Yeah, there's no love lost between these once feuding big cat caretakers -- John even sounds a little Joe-ish here by calling CB one of his former boss's fave catchphrases.

As for the commercial they're set to be in, unclear exactly what it'll entail -- but based on the on-camera convo they had with Todd ... sounds like it's written well and should be chock full of laughs. Apparently, Todd's worked with Insurance King before and vouches for 'em.

Tory Lanez is making lots of enemies with his album release, slash denial about allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion ... because now he's also beefing with the boss.

Rick Ross and Tory exchanged jabs on social media Friday ... with Rick throwing the first punch by questioning the timing of Tory's new music, saying he thinks it shows a lack of respect for Black women.

Rick said Tory made a "poor decision" by ripping Megan the same week the cops who shot and killed Breonna Taylor were not charged with murder. Ross says it's not the way to address allegations about shooting a Black woman, and he reminds Lanez, "we gotta respect these sisters."

Tory just responded, saying he marched 9 days in a row protesting Breonna's death in Miami and didn't see RR in the streets once. He also rips Ross for plugging wine companies in his initial diss, saying Rick also made a "poor decision."

As you know, lots of people are coming at Tory right now ... before Ross, NBA player J.R. Smith called Lanez a "clown" and a "lil ass boy" in response to mentioning his name on the album, and KeKe Palmer's also pissed.

Adding fuel to the fire, TMZ broke the story ... Megan's team is accusing Tory's reps of orchestrating a smear campaign against her ... which Tory's camp denies.

Megan Thee Stallion's got more beef with Tory Lanez ... her camp is accusing him of launching a smear campaign against her as retaliation for her accusing him of shooting her.

Megan's team alleges Tory's camp is creating fake emails in an effort to plant false stories about MTS in the media. Her attorney, Alex Spiro, tells TMZ ... "We have been made aware of manipulated text messages and invented email accounts that have been disseminated to the media in a calculated attempt to peddle a false narrative about the events that occurred on July the 12th."

TMZ has received some of the allegedly doctored texts and emails to which Spiro is referring.

For instance, Megan's camp claims Tory's reps sent one to several media outlets posing as a promoter at LIV Nightclub in Miami. The email falsely claims her management at Roc Nation influenced the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against Lanez, claiming the rapper went on a menacing attack in the club.

Roc Nation denies any involvement in that lawsuit.

Another email, from a phony Gmail account, pointed the media to a YouTube video of a man claiming to be Tory's ex-bodyguard, who said he'd never seen the rapper get violent with women. However, he also admitted he had no clue what happened with Megan, because he wasn't there the night of the shooting.

As you know ... Megan is adamant Tory pulled the trigger and shot her during the wee hours of July 12 after a night of partying in the Hollywood Hills.

Tory had been silent about the incident until he released new music last night. In the lyrics, he accuses her team of "framing" him for the shooting, and also questions whether Megan was even shot at all.

A rep for Tory says they "strongly deny sending emails or otherwise creating a false narrative. The only commentary which has been made on this topic was the creative output on the album. We are investigating who could be sending these false emails and intend to take action against them.”

As for the shooting investigation ... our sources say police have the bullet that was taken from Megan's foot -- and you'll recall, she posted pretty gruesome pics of her injuries.

L.A. Lakers guard J.R. Smith is clapping back at Tory Lanez after getting DISSED on his latest album ... calling the artist a "clown" and a "lil ass boy."

A bit of a refresher -- the NBA vet was outspoken after Megan Thee Stallion accused Tory of shooting her in July ... saying, "This clown shoots a female and ya’ll listening to his music."

"TF Tory Lanez," J.R. added. "You a straight clown. Facts. And tell whoever to hit my line. It’s whatever.”

Fast forward to Thursday night ... when Tory addressed ALL accusations and negative comments made against him since the alleged incident -- including Smith's jab -- on his track, "Sorry, But I Had To..."

Here are the lyrics about Smith:

"J.R. Smith, it's the pot that piss ... And you the last cat that should talk about some shots that hit."

"'Cause your performance and percentage, player ... Rollin', ridin' benches, n***a, I'm from the trenches, n***a."

"You the type to buy a chick a eighty and ya still won't get a inch up in her."

Smith -- fresh off the Lakers' 114-108 win over the Denver Nuggets -- heard Tory's bars loud and clear ... and fired right back on his Instagram story.

"i got time today too! 🤣🤣," J.R. said. "bout to get real 🌶🌶"

There's more ... "He not even 30 stay in ya place lil ass boy."

"bust ya gun at a female you all types of 🤡"

FWIW -- 5'3" Tory also denies Meg's shooting claims ... but we know where Smith stands on that issue.

Tory Lanez finally broke his silence about allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion, but only in song -- he dropped a new record that includes a full denial.

The rapper released a 17-track album Thursday night called "DayStar," and nearly every song seems to be about the altercation with Megan back in July when they were out partying with Kylie Jenner in the Hollywood Hills.

Megan has accused him of shooting her, but Tory's basically calling her a liar on his opening track, "Money Over Fallouts." The lyrics include, "How the f*** you get shot in your foot, don’t hit no bones or tendons?"

He continues ... "How the f*** your team is trying to pay me in some whole millions? / 
I just lost like 10 million dollars because this cold business
 / But I got like 10 million followers that’s gon' roll with me / 
Fans that support me because they know my heart."

Along with poking holes in Megan's account of what went down between them on July 12, he suggests she's been influenced to lie about him. On other tracks, he hints that he hopes to speak with Megan again and even reconcile ... but also that he's moved on with a new GF.

Tory's new album also addresses rumors Kylie was the reason he and Meg were fighting that night -- a theory Megan's firmly denied. Still, Tory raps, "Me and Kylie still off in the pool / We was chilling, kicking s**t was cool / Both of us didn’t know you was tripping / Even though I got a crush on Kylie, I woulda left with you if I knew you was dipping, for the simple reason / You invited me, but I can’t act like shawty didn’t excite me."

Earlier Thursday, Tory apologized to his fans for his silence and implied he'd be opening up about things at 9 PM PT -- when his album dropped. Many thought he'd own up to shooting her and apologize. He went in the other direction.

After weeks of speculation and uncertainty about what went down back in July before police swarmed Megan and Tory's SUV and she walked out with bloody feet ... Meg flat-out accused Tory of shooting her in an August 20 video, stating she was tired of the lies from his side.

Megan said the 2 of them -- along with her friend and Tory's driver -- were all arguing in the vehicle after leaving Kylie's house in the Hills after 4 AM, and she tried to get out and walk home. That's when she alleges Tory started shooting at her out the window, hitting her feet.

As we've reported ... Tory was arrested for possession of a concealed weapon -- a handgun was under his seat -- and Megan was taken to a hospital and treated for a "gunshot injury."

Though Tory's finally broken his silence publicly on the incident, TMZ previously learned he'd texted Megan an apology about 15 hours afterward, saying ... "I know u prolly never gone talk to me again, but I genuinely want u to know I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart."

Gigi Gorgeous says 'Harry Potter' used to mean something to her, but on the heels of a new anti-trans controversy involving J.K. Rowling ... that's all changed.

The popular trans influencer was leaving Delilah in WeHo when we asked her about Rowling promoting an online store that sells transphobic merch. Gigi told us enough is enough with the author's continual acts of disrespect and dishonor to her community.

As you'll recall ... even 'Harry Potter' himself, Daniel Radcliffe, ripped Rowling a few months back over her incendiary tweets about gender identity.

Rowling has also offered opinions about, and against, transitioning and bathroom rights for trans people in the past.

The latest backlash she's getting stems from tweeting a link to a shop that sells a witch-themed t-shirt she likes ... in order to support women-owned businesses.

President Trump resorted to one of his favorite pastimes -- insulting women -- making a sexist comment about Meghan Markle ... all because she dared to encourage Americans to vote.

Meghan and Prince Harry have not officially endorsed any political candidates ... but the couple recently entered the convo by urging folks to cast their vote in November, which the Duchess of Sussex calls ... "the most important election of our lifetime."

Trump was asked about this at his Wednesday press briefing by a reporter who framed it as Meghan's words being an endorsement of Joe Biden ... and he did not respond kindly.

The Prez said, "I'm not a fan of hers," adding, "I wish a lot of luck to Harry, 'cause he's gonna need it."

Dr. Dre's estranged wife had the gall to dip into a well-funded cookie jar not just once, but TWICE ... at least according to Dre's biz partner, who's now accusing her of grand theft.

Attorneys for Larry Chatman -- who co-founded Record One studio with Dre in 2015 -- just fired off another letter to Nicole Young ... accusing her withdrawing an extra $30,000-plus from the business account, despite no longer being legally authorized.

We already told you about the $353k Larry claims Nicole embezzled from the account in late August. The company accused Nicole of criminal conduct in draining the account and fired off a letter to that effect. After receiving the letter, Chatman says Nicole siphoned another $31,457, two days AFTER she was given the boot and removed in any official capacity.

In Larry and his attorneys' eyes ... that amounts to grand theft ... on top of the alleged $353k embezzlement from earlier.

And, yes, they're threatening legal action.

Nicole's attorney called their first accusation a "low-grade PR stunt" meant to embarrass his client and take the spotlight away from a recent lawsuit she filed against Dre himself ... in which she accused him of hiding assets she feels entitled to in the divorce.

Nicole's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, tells TMZ, "This is a clear attempt to smear Nicole's name.  As people are well aware, banks do not give out money to people who are not authorized to receive it."

This has become an epically-nasty divorce. Nicole claims Dre tore up the prenup she signed right before getting married. He calls BS on that. She also wants nearly $2 mil a month in temporary spousal support while the divorce winds its way through the legal system.

A company Dr. Dre and his estranged wife founded together is accusing her of draining the primary business account dry and even criminal embezzlement ... just the latest sign of how nasty this divorce is getting.

TMZ has obtained a letter that was fired off to Nicole Young by attorneys for Record One recording studio, which Dre and Larry Chatman founded in 2015. Record One is operated by an LLC. Nicole was a trustee and signatory on the LLC's checking account.

The letter launches right into allegations of wrongdoing by Nicole -- claiming she "decimated" the company's bank account last month to the tune of $353,571.85.  Attorney Ed McPherson, who reps the LLC that operates Record One, attached the check Nicole wrote to herself.

The letter accuses Nicole of "blatant and unjustifiable criminal embezzlement of corporate funds," as well as a breach of her fiduciary duties.

Dre and his other partner demand Nicole return the cash they claim she jacked no later than a week from Tuesday ... otherwise, the attorneys say they'll be filing suit against her.

Remember, Nicole just accused Dre of pilfering assets ... which our Dre sources called BS. Nicole also claims the prenup she signed was under duress and Dre had a change of heart a few years into the marriage and ripped it up. Again, we're told Dre calls BS.

Kanye West is back from his Twitter time-out with an outrageous claim -- he's offering to get back Taylor Swift's master recordings from Scooter Braun!!!

Yeezy just offered his services to his longtime enemy, vowing ... "I'M GOING TO PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT TAYLOR SWIFT GETS HER MASTERS BACK. SCOOTER IS A CLOSE FAMILY FRIEND."

The jaw-dropping move came in the middle of Ye's most recent Tweet storm ... hence his ALL CAPS mood. Prior to this, he's been railing for days against the music industry ... demanded that artists, himself included, deserve to own their recordings.

This is the second time Taylor's come up this week on his Twitter feed. Earlier, he posted a text exchange with someone who's suggesting he follow Taylor's lead and either try to buy his masters or re-record them.

Remember, Taylor is beefing with Scooter -- Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato's manager -- who recently bought Big Machine Records which owns Swift's first 6 album masters. Taylor is determined to get her OG tunes back and, as of now, plans to re-record the songs that made her famous.

Of course, the idea of Kanye seeing himself as Taylor's knight in shining armor on this, or any, issue is pretty laughable at best -- and horribly offensive at worst.

Taylor's been fighting this fight on her own just fine -- calling out Scooter specifically, and the music industry in general, for bullying women. Not to mention the fact Kanye's said some awful things about Taylor over the years ... so this is one helping hand we're guessing she'd rather do without.

Still, Kanye seems to think he can broker a deal between Taylor and Scooter, who he counts as a close family friend.

Kanye West isn't easing up off his push for Black ownership in enterprise, or his gripes about not getting a chance to own the masters to his songs.

Ye was going off again early Wednesday about African-Americans, by and large, not getting their fair share of the pie -- instead, he says they're mostly used by companies run by whites. He again points to the NBA and the music biz as examples.

In his new Twitter rant, he says, "We sat back and watched Nick Cannon get canceled and we go to play ball in a bubble with black lives matter on our backs ... brothers let’s stand together for real ... there is no NBA or music industry without black people ... fair contracts matter ... ownership matters."

Insisting he's made "multi billions," Kanye says he's one of the few who can openly speak on this issue without repercussion -- the implication being he's rich enough to where he doesn't have to worry about a record label trying to muzzle him.

Speaking of that ... Ye brings the convo back to himself and his own fight for ownership of his master recordings, blasting Universal Music Group and alleging they won't even give him a chance to buy them outright -- because he feels they know he can probably afford them.

Of course, this is the same argument his nemesis, Taylor Swift, made not too long ago ... as one of Kanye's associates pointed out to him on Tuesday morning.

Ye and Taylor on the same page??? 2020 strikes again.

Joe Exotic just can't get Jeff Lowe off his tail ... Joe's former business partner's got beef over the 'Tiger King' star's new fashion line.

Here's the deal ... Joe has his nickname plastered all over his "REVENGE" fashion collection with Odaingerous streetwear ... but Jeff insists he's owed a cut of the profits.

Jeff's lawyer fired off a cease and desist letter to Odaingerous, obtained by TMZ, claiming he owns the trademark "Joe Exotic." Jeff's threatening a lawsuit if Odaingerous doesn't pull the merch or come to the bargaining table to work out a licensing deal with him.

But, sources close to Odaingerous tell TMZ ... the brand currently has a valid contract with Joe and his team related to the merch, and they claim Jeff's not the true owner of "Joe Exotic."

Jeff sees things much differently ... telling us he's owned and controlled intellectual property with regards to Joe Exotic and Tiger King since 2016. He also raises issue with the fact that Joe has started up a business while behind bars ... something he believes to be illegal.

As you know ... Joe's fashion line keeps selling out, whether it's boxer briefs or hoodies and t-shirts.

Chad Johnson says Jen Harley's making him look like an a**hole after their Vegas hookup, which he claims is unfair ... but he also wants to squash any brewing beef with her ex, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.

The former 'Bachelorette' bad boy was leaving the gym Monday night in the San Fernando Valley when he addressed the fallout from the video of him making out with Ronnie's ex ... specifically, Jen alleging she was plied with booze and set up.

Chad says that's "crazy ridiculous" and claims Jen admitted to him, her manager made up the "set up" story to help her save face ... but he says he's getting screwed in the process.

Chad's pretty adamant it was just a wild, fun night in Sin City and Jen knew what she was doing -- so he wishes she would just come clean.

At the same time ... Chad feels like he needs a sit-down with Ronnie, with whom he used to be bros, and says he WILL talk to the 'Jersey Shore' star. Even Chad can admit making out with a friend's baby mama is a "major f**k-up on my part."

Sounds like Chad should work on his apology a little bit before he makes the call, though ... because he's still coming off as a guy who believes he's been victimized.

Put yourself in Ronnie's shoes (scary, we know) and watch.

Thirty years after the premiere of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," the Banks family's together again with one very surprising inclusion -- Janet Hubert, the OG Aunt Viv is back!!!

Will Smith shared a screen grab of himself and Janet smiling and laughing at each other, which might make ya think hell is about to freeze over ... because that's basically what she said would happen before this reunion could happen.

Hubert, who played Aunt Viv for the first 3 seasons, has repeatedly said she hated Will and blamed him for her firing. In fact, back in 2011, she said, "There will never be a reunion ... as I will never do anything with an a**hole like Will Smith."

Thankfully, somehow, they've buried the hatchet. Will also posted a pic of the rest of the fam gathered to shoot the special -- Alfonso Ribeiro who played Carlton, Tatyana Ali who played Ashley, Karyn Parsons who played Hilary, Joseph Marcell who played Geoffrey Butler the butler, DJ Jazzy Jeff who played Jazz and Daphne Reid who played v.2 of Aunt Vivian.

The only missing cast member was Uncle Phil ... you'll recall James Avery, passed away in 2013.

The 'Fresh Prince' reunion is expected to air on HBO Max sometime around Thanksgiving -- and don't forget about the new 30th Anniversary clothing line, which just launched. Talk about master marketing.

Will's got this teaser thing down pat, 'cause everyone's dying to know how he and Janet squashed their beef.

Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell apologized to Luka Doncic for calling the Mavs star a "bitch-ass white boy" ... squashing potential beef with a pregame hug and handshake Sunday.

If you missed it ... Harrell went viral Friday for his trash talk of the Dallas point guard -- when cameras caught the L.A. player mouthing the words to Luka after a big first-quarter bucket.

Of course, given the nation's current climate and battle for racial equality ... Montrezl was heavily criticized for the chatter -- with ex-NBA player Jay Williams saying straight-up, "I can only imagine if Luka Doncic had said something like that to you."

Montrezl says he took it upon himself to clear the air with Luka before Game 4 on Sunday ... and in video of their conversation, you can see there was no bad blood at all.

"Nothing but respect for Luka," Harrell said of their pregame embrace. "He understood the heat of the battle and he said it didn’t bother him only RESPECT."

For his part, Luka said he accepted Harrell's apology ... adding, "No worries."

"There’s a lot of emotions on the court, especially this is playoffs," Doncic said. "Sometimes you say things you don’t want to say. He apologized. I respect that, so no problems.”

Clippers coach Doc Rivers says he addressed everything with Harrell in house ... telling reporters over the weekend that Montrezl MUST be more careful with his words.

"I said to him, ‘Hey, I don’t think you meant anything racially by it.’ He said ‘white boy,’ but I don’t think there was anything racial intended," Rivers said. "But we are in a very heightened climate and you have to be careful."

DeSean Jackson went OFF on Danny Green during L.A.'s stunning loss to Portland on Tuesday ... with the NFL star calling the Lakers wing "weak," a "bum" and straight-up "trash."

"I don't care what anybody say," said the Philadelphia Eagles receiver, who grew up in L.A. "Danny Green, you weak as f*ck. You out there playing like a bum."

"Get him off the team, man. Trash."

Of course, Green didn't play his best in the Lakers' 100-93 playoff loss to the Trailblazers ... scoring just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

In fact, Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso were all heavily criticized by NBA pundits for not giving LeBron James enough support in the game.

Seems DeSean couldn't agree more ... because he said he now believes the Lake Show is in big trouble in the rest of the series.

"I told ya'll Lakers, ya'll in trouble," DeSean said. "I'm a die-hard Laker fan, but I don't know. This ain't looking like us."

Jackson went on to praise the hell out of Damian Lillard for his 34-point night ... adding, "That boy Dame Lillard cold. Salute, Dame."

Game 2 in the series is set to tip-off Thursday ... and there's already been talks J.R. Smith and/or Dion Waiters should begin eating into Green's minutes.