Comedy

Kevin James is looking to cash in on his new internet meme fame ... by using the viral image to promote his standup comedy act.

The actor and comedian posted "The King of Queens" meme on his social media Wednesday, much to the internet's delight ... using it to plug his new tour.

You've probably seen the meme pop up on your feed recently ... an old promotional headshot Kevin did for his TV sitcom 'King of Queens' back in the '90s, where he shrugs with both hands in his pockets and displays a sheepish grin.

Folks have been using the old pic to make tons of hilarious memes ... and the show's stars are taking notice. Leah Remini says she "absolutely loves" all the memes, and now Kevin's piggybacking.

In his post, Kevin says he's gearing up for his new "Double Hands In The Pocket" tour ... which he says is "sheepishly coming to a city near you."

Kevin James está tratando de sacar provecho de su nueva fama en Internet, usando el meme que lo hizo famoso para promover su acto de comedia.

El actor y comediante publicó el meme "El Rey de Queens" en sus redes sociales el miércoles, para deleite de Internet, todo para enchufarlos en su nueva gira.

Probablemente han visto el meme en su feed recientemente. Se trata de un viejo headshot promocional que hizo para su comedia de televisión 'Rey de Queens' en los años 90, donde se encoge de hombros con las dos manos en los bolsillos y muestra una sonrisa tímida.

La gente ha estado utilizando la vieja foto para hacer un montón de memes hilarantes y las estrellas de la serie están tomando nota. Leah Remini dice que ella "ama absolutamente" todos los memes y ahora el de Kevin.

En su post, dice que se está preparando para su nueva gira "Double Hands In The Pocket", la que se está acercando "tímidamente a una ciudad cerca de ti".

Pauly Shore is determined to get Richard Simmons on board with his plans to produce and star in a biopic ... and he has a new plan to appeal to the reclusive fitness guru.

Pauly joined us Monday on "TMZ Live," and he told us he wants to get the director from the Elton John biopic, "Rocketman" involved ... so they can bring something real to Richard and appeal to his heart.

The way Paul envisions things shaking out ... Dexter Fletcher directs a 10-minute presentation they can take to Richard, so they can show him the biopic is not some joke, but an important story that needs to be told for Richard's legion of fans.

Problem is ... Richard's so far been unreceptive. As we first reported, RS doesn't want to get involved in Pauly's project and prefers to continue living his life in private, remaining out of the spotlight.

Pauly's not giving up so easily though, and sounds confident he can change Richard's mind.

Richard's been out of the public eye for years ... and last summer TMZ released "TMZ Investigates: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons" on FOX and Hulu, which drew a huge response and led to Richard posting a rare message to his fans.

A Richard Simmons le gusta mucho Pauly Shore, pero no está pensando en la idea de Pauly, o de cualquier otra persona, de hacer una película biográfica, a pesar del clamor de la gente en redes sociales por una historia de su vida.

Fuentes cercanas a Richard le dicen a TMZ que es consciente de los esfuerzos que hay por hacer una película, sobre todo encabezada por Pauly, pero él no quiere estar involucrado.

Nuestras fuentes dicen que no es nada en contra de Pauly. Richard conoce al actor y su difunta madre Mitzi, desde hace décadas. Simplemente quiere vivir una vida privada fuera de los focos.

Nos han dicho también que Richard y compañía reciben ofertas y propuestas casi semanalmente, y que él las rechaza todas. Simplemente no quiere estar en la palestra y mucho menos detrás de una gran producción sobre su vida

En cuanto al lanzamiento de Pauly, nuestras fuentes dicen que alguien del equipo de Pauly se contactó con Richard, pero su representante cortésmente rechazó la oferta.

Fue el verano pasado cuando TMZ lanzó "TMZ Investiga: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons", en FOX y Hulu. La respuesta fue tremenda, con miles de personas enviando una tonelada de amor hacia Richard por Internet. Él incluso publicó un mensaje raro agradeciendo a todos por su apoyo.

El Príncipe Harry, Meghan Markle, Oprah Winfrey y Ellen DeGeneres estuvieron en el evento de caridad de Kevin Costner, en honor a las instituciones que socorren a la gente, demostrando que la realeza de Hollywood está muy viva.

Las celebridades de la lista A asistieron el viernes al evento "One805 Live", en la finca Oceanside de Kevin en Santa Bárbara, para honrar a los policías locales y los bomberos por su servicio, particularmente durante la terrible tormenta de enero que causó evacuaciones en Montecito.

Todos estaban de muy buen humor cuando Kevin y Oprah pronunciaron sus discursos sobre los socorristas, los que orgullosamente estaban junto a ellas en el escenario.

Harry y Meghan también subieron al escenario mientras eran presentados como invitados especiales. En un momento dado, Harry entregó un premio honorífico a Kevin antes de que el ganador del Oscar iniciara su discurso.

Maroon 5 puso el broche de oro con su enérgica actuación ante una multitud.

Otros invitados notables del evento de recaudación, que consistía en unos 12.000 dólares por mesa, fueron los padres de Kate Perry.

Pete Davidson volvió a las pistas después de un breve paréntesis y, según nos cuentan, ya tiene una nueva novia, la estrella de Outer Banks, Madelyn Cline.

Fuentes cercanas al ex alumno de "Saturday Night Live" le dicen a TMZ que Pete y Madelyn son oficialmente algo, aunque es un misterio dónde, cuándo y cómo se conocieron.

Pero US Weekly, que informó de la noticia por primera vez, dijo que la pareja reservó una habitación para pasar la noche en el Hotel Beverly Hills y que luego compartieron un desayuno discreto a la mañana siguiente.

El romance en ciernes viene después de que Pete rompiera con Chase Sui Wonder en agosto. En el pasado, Pete también ha salido con Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian, Emily Ratajkowski y Kate Beckinsale, entre otras celebridades.

En cuanto a Madelyn, sabemos que previamente había estado saliendo con su coprotagonista en Outer Banks, Chase Stakes, en 2021. Después de que terminaran, se rumoreó que Madelyn se estaba viendo con el músico Jackson Guthy, hasta que recientemente lo dejó de seguir en Instagram.

Richard Simmons likes Pauly Shore a lot, but he's not biting on the idea of Pauly -- or anyone else for that matter -- playing him in a biopic, despite a clamoring from folks on social media for a life story.

Sources close to Richard tell TMZ ... he's aware of the effort behind a biopic, mostly spear-headed by Pauly, but Richard just doesn't want to be involved.

Our sources say it's nothing against Pauly -- Richard's known the actor and his late mom Mitzi, for decades -- he simply wants to live a private life out of the spotlight.

We're told Richard & Co. get offers and pitches almost weekly and he turns all of them down. He's just not interested in going public, much less getting behind some big production about his life.

As for the Pauly pitch, our sources say someone from Pauly's team did connect with Richard's ... but Richard's rep politely turned a thumbs down.

It was last summer when TMZ released "TMZ Investigates: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons" on FOX and Hulu. The response was huge, with the internet sending a ton of love Richard's way. He even posted a rare message thanking everyone for their support.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres all dropped into Kevin Costner's charity event for first responders in California ... proving Hollywood Royalty is very much alive and well.

The A-List celebs descended on the "One805 Live" event at Kevin's Oceanside estate in Santa Barbara Friday to honor local cops and firefighters for their service, particularly during January's horrible storm that caused evacuations in Montecito.

Everyone was in great spirits as Kevin and Oprah delivered speeches about the first responders who proudly stood next to them onstage.

Harry and Meghan also walked out onstage as they were introduced as special guests. At one point, Harry gave an honorary award to Kevin before the Oscar-winning actor launched into his address.

Maroon 5 capped things off with their high-energy performance in front of a packed crowd.

Other notable guests for the $12,000 per-table fundraiser included Kate Perry's parents.

Pete Davidson is back on the dating scene after a brief hiatus ... and he already has a new girlfriend -- "Outer Banks" star Madelyn Cline.

Sources close to the "Saturday Night Live" alum tell TMZ ... Pete and Madelyn are officially an item, although it's a mystery where, when, and how they first met.

But, US Weekly -- which first reported the news -- said the couple got a room for the night at the Beverly Hills Hotel -- and then shared a low-key breakfast the next morning.

The budding romance comes on the heels of Pete breaking up with Chase Sui Wonder in August after their months-long relationship fizzled. In the past, Pete has also hooked up with Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian, Emily Ratajkowski and Kate Beckinsale, among other notables.

As for Madelyn, she's previously dated her Outer Banks costar Chase Stakes in 2021. After they called it quits, Madelyn was rumored to be seeing musician Jackson Guthy until recently, when she unfollowed him on Instagram.

Anthony Anderson will fork over $20,000 every month to his ex-wife, Alvina Stewart, per his divorce judgment, but he could be paying even more, depending on how his career's going.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Anthony will pay the $20k as a base amount, and that number will go up if his gross annual earnings go over $2 million. In that case, he'll pay an additional 20% of his income.

In other words, the more Anthony makes, the more he's gotta shell out to Alvina -- that's how spousal support works -- but he's not walking out of the marriage empty-handed.

The docs say Anthony gets to keep their property in Encino, CA, and a 2004 Land Rover -- she gets the 2022 Mazda and their place in Houston. They also have a cemetery plot at Inglewood Park Cemetery, which they'll be selling and splitting the proceeds. RIP to that deal.

Lastly, the docs say there's a glock-19 firearm that's registered to Alvina but currently in Anthony's possession -- and he'll have to return that to law enforcement within the next 30 days.

Anthony Anderson tendrá que pagar más de $20.000 dólares cada mes a su ex esposa —Alvina Stewart— por su sentencia de divorcio, pero podría estar pagando aún más dependiendo de cómo va su carrera.

Según los documentos obtenidos por TMZ, Anthony pagará 20.000 dólares como cantidad base, y esa cifra aumentará si sus ingresos brutos anuales superan los 2 millones de dólares. En ese caso, pagará un 20% adicional de sus ingresos.

En otras palabras, cuanto más gana Anthony, más tiene que desembolsar a Alvina, así es como funciona la manutención conyugal, pero él no está caminando fuera del matrimonio con las manos vacías.

Los documentos dicen que Anthony se queda con su propiedad en Encino California y un Land Rover 2004. Ella se queda con el 2022 Mazda y su casa en Houston. También tienen una parcela en el cementerio de Inglewood Park que van a vender y dividir los ingresos. RIP a ese acuerdo.

Por último, los documentos dicen que hay un arma de fuego Glock-19 que está registrada a Alvina pero actualmente en posesión de Anthony y él tendrá que devolver que a la aplicación de la ley dentro de los próximos 30 días.

Hasan Minhaj has been caught stretching the truth in a handful of stories he's told in his stand-up comedy -- and his response to this revelation is ... eh, it's not a big deal, guys.

The comic -- famous from 'The Daily Show' -- got called out in a New Yorker piece ... which got him to admit that he'd fabricated much of the details to several bits he'd done on stage over the years ... almost all of which played up racism and bigotry over his Muslim heritage.

One such anecdote that was embellished is about his daughter ... and how he had to rush her to the hospital after an envelope with white powder was sent to his house. As it turns out, all the daughter stuff was made up -- as he revealed when pressed by the New Yorker.

Other stories he exaggerated or flat-out lied about included one of him getting turned down for a school dance due to his race -- the woman in question says this wasn't the case in the slightest -- and another about how an FBI informant infiltrated his community mosque. In both instances, there appears to be little truth to the substance of the stories.

Minhaj said this to the New Yorker, "My comedy Arnold Palmer is seventy per cent emotional truth -- this happened -- and then thirty per cent hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction." After being pressed further by other media, he released a lengthier statement, which is interesting.

He says ... "All my standup stories are based on events that happened to me. Yes, I was rejected from going to prom because of my race. Yes, a letter with powder was sent to my apartment that almost harmed my daughter. Yes, I had an interaction with law enforcement during the war on terror. Yes, I had varicocele repair surgery, so we could get pregnant. Yes, I roasted Jared Kushner to his face. I use the tools of standup comedy -- hyperbole, changing names and locations, and compressing timelines to tell entertaining stories."

Michael Blackson is feeling more confident about the power of Afrobeats music since the last time we talked to him -- he's now certain the wave will be at least as large as hip hop, if not bigger.

We caught up with Mike at Kids in Africa Afrikicks -- a charitable event put together by Oni Productions, and one which happened after Afrobeats star Rema took home an MTV VMA for his blockbuster hit "Calm Down" with Selena Gomez.

It was the inaugural award for "Best Afrobeats" song, and the vid has been crushing it, garnering over a billion views in just a year's time.

MB thinks the writing's on the wall for his culture to dominate music just as hip hop has for the last 50 years. The Nigerian-born comedian says Afrobeats is just too "fun and loving" to be denied.

He's also using American stars to prove his point ... namely Drake and Chris Brown, who started collaborating with the likes of Wizkid and Davido years ago.

It's obvious record labels are putting a heavy priority on Afrobeats now -- maybe even more than hip hop, which was shut out of Billboard's #1 spot for more than a year.

MGM properties are still reeling from a cyberattack which sent some of Las Vegas' biggest hotels into disarray ... but that's not stopping Sin City's heavyweight performers, who are full steam ahead this weekend.

Bill Maher is doing stand-up this weekend at the MGM Grand -- where check-out lines have been as far as the eye can see as a result of the cyberattack -- but a rep for Bill tells us his Friday and Saturday shows are still going on as planned.

Cirque Du Soleil -- a Vegas staple -- has shows at a number of MGM properties including the Grand, Bellagio and Mandalay Bay ... and a rep tells us they're all a go for this weekend.

As for other Vegas acts outside MGM hotels ... we're hearing they're not sweating the cyberattack. Shows for Magic Mike Live at SAHARA, Chris Angel MINDFREAK at Planet Hollywood and Murray The Magician at Tropicana are all on this weekend.

As we reported ... the cyberattack hit MGM resorts Monday, blocking guests from getting into their rooms, wreaking havoc on casino slot machines, downing phone lines and shutting down hotel check-ins.

MGM says a "cybersecurity issue" is affecting the company's systems and the company is working with "leading external cybersecurity experts" to get things under control, but everything has yet to be fixed.

Hacker groups including ALPHV and The Scattered Spider are claiming responsibility for the attack, though MGM has yet to confirm. Still, experts say the problems the resorts are facing show all the signs of a cyberattack.

Howie Mandel is clearly a fan of the TMZ Celebrity Tour -- his shirt says it all -- but he's figured out a way to streamline the operation to just 45 seconds!

Howie was arriving at the 'AGT' shoot Wednesday in Pasadena, with a shirt emblazoned with the logo for our 2-hour show on wheels.

A  photog asked why he was wearing the TMZ Tee ... and by the look on his face he was a bit incredulous. For Howie, it was obvious. The comedian launched into his tour guide schtick.

Enter a woman who happened to be passing by ... Howie wrangled her to take the tour, though imploring her to keep her distance ... he is, after all, a renowned germaphobe.

You gotta watch the vid ... stupid us, we've been using buses for 10 years -- very comfy we might add -- but Howie figured out a way for normies to take the tour in just seconds.

Martin Short's fans are coming to his defense on social media after he was skewered as a "desperately unfunny" comedian in a recent op-ed.

All the drama started Friday when Dan Kois published an opinion piece for Slate, calling into question Short's talents as a funnyman to the point of what many might interpret as being rude.

Kois wrote, "He (Short) would do anything, anything, for a laugh" ... "I find Martin Short's whole schtick exhausting, sweaty and desperately unfunny."

Continuing his takedown, Kois said ... "Every time he dresses up in a silly outfit or says something outrageous or mugs for the audience, I want to shout at the screen: 'Why are you being like this?'"

Kois also attacked Short's hugely popular TV show, "Only Murders In The Building," co-starring Selena Gomez and Steve Martin. Even though the series received Emmy nominations, Kois still thinks Short's character is not funny.

And the criticism went on and on and on.

But a lot of people disagreed with Kois and took to social media to show their support for Short, while posting clips of his best moments.

One fan wrote on X, "There's literally nothing that's not funny about martin short i dont understand this."

Another devotee said, "Martin Short has been hysterical since I was born lol."