Comedy

Dave Chappelle got into the b-boy spirit for his arrival in Ghana on Tuesday ... letting off a few pop-lock moves as African dancers sent by the Diaspora Affairs at the office of the President greeted him personally!!!

The comedic genius looked genuinely happy from the warm cultural welcome ... puffing on a cig as he took the moment in.

Chance The Rapper and Vic Mensa are spearheading their Black Star Line Festival in Ghana this week, and Dave's joining in for the upcoming conversation with Chance ahead of the round of performances.

Chance, Vic, Erykah Badu, T-Pain, Jeremih, Sarkodie, Tobe Nwigwe, and several others will perform on Saturday, January 6, inside Accra’s historic Black Star Square.

Black Star rapper Talib Kweli also landed in the Motherland with Dave and thanked Chance and Vic ... which could be telling.

While there aren't any Mos Def sightings reported just yet ... it would almost be criminal for Black Star not to perform at the inaugural Black Star Line fest!!!

Leslie Jordan fans are eager to get their hands on the place he was just about to call home ... hoping to buy the new condo he purchased right before he died.

The condo was listed a few weeks ago, and fans have been flocking to the property ... so says Eric Ronjoy, the listing agent. He says some fans are even reaching out just to tour!

We're told some folks inquiring about the pad are self-proclaimed Leslie Jordan fans ... who feel a connection to the property since he bought it right before he passed and would have been the first property he ever owned.

Eric tells us ... out of 30 groups who have recently toured, half are lookie-loos who just wanted to see where Leslie was planning to live. Others are people interested in purchasing. One potential buyer even toyed with the idea of turning the condo into a Leslie Jordan memorial.

Some of you might remember the heartwarming video he posted back in August ... and he was over the moon about his new home.

TMZ broke the story ... Leslie died in October after suffering a medical emergency ... crashing his BMW into the side of a building.

In addition to the Leslie Jordan hook, the 2-bedroom pad has a lot of cool amenities ... including a rooftop pool, tennis court, gym and a balcony.

Before he died, Ronjoy says LJ ordered around $500K worth of new furniture. Fortunately, the purchases were canceled after he passed.

So far, no one has made an offer ... but with all the interest, it should only be a matter of time.

Funnyman Jeff Ross may have inadvertently contributed to a Texas inmate's death sentence ... and now, the guy's attorneys are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the sentence.

Here's the rub ... attorneys for Gabriel Hall are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review the convicted killer's capital punishment sentence, which was based in part on jokes Ross and Hall made to each other ... during the comedian's 2015 TV special.

During the trial, prosecutors used Ross' show as evidence against Hall, which eventually lead to his conviction and subsequent death sentence.

The taped special was shot at the Detention Center where Hall was awaiting trial in TX back in '15 ... it was filmed shortly before Hall's conviction for the murder of a man named Edwin Shaar.

According to the Supreme Court petition, obtained by TMZ, Ross and Hall had a wide-ranging convo that was aired AS A PART of "Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live At Brazos County Jail." The chat lasted 17 minutes with the comedian repeatedly mocking the guy's appearance and joking about his race. During the exchange, Hall made a series of jokes which prosecutors used during the penalty phase which, they said, showed Hall had "a lack of remorse for having committed capital murder." As a result, Hall's lawyers say, the jury voted to put Hall to death.

In their legal docs, Hall's lawyers say that before the Ross special was taped, they sent the Brazos County Sheriff a letter of "no contact" ... asking the deputies to prohibit anyone from talking to Hall without their permission. Clearly, that didn't happen.

D.L. Hughley says Donald Trump should be criminally charged over the Jan. 6 riots ... and he wants the former president charged with the death of a Capitol Police officer.

We got the comedian at LAX and he told our photog ... Trump would be staring at a slew of charges if he were Black ... including manslaughter.

The way D.L. sees it ... Trump should be held responsible for the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died the day after being viciously attacked by the mob during the insurrection.

Trump has yet to be charged by the Justice Department. The Jan. 6 Committee voted to refer Trump for possible criminal charges ... so potential charges are on the table.

As we reported, the Jan. 6 panel feels four charges are warranted for Trump ... obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to make a false statement, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and insurrection.

Jeanie Buss just added another ring to her collection -- the Los Angeles Lakers owner is engaged to Jay Mohr!!

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the couple of several years recently took their relationship to the next level after the comedian got on one knee and proposed.

We're told Buss and Mohr -- who bonded over sports and comedy -- are ecstatic about how their love has developed over time ... and they're excited to spend the rest of their lives together.

The clues were there -- Jeanie has been spotted wearing a ring on that finger recently ... and sources close to the couple confirmed they are, in fact, engaged.

Jeanie and Jay started "quietly" dating back in 2017 ... and the two frequently attended Laker games together.

Jeanie has been head over heels for Jay ... and on her birthday last year, shared just how special he makes her feel in a mushy social media post.

"Happiness. Love. Joy," Buss said in September 2021. "That’s what you have given me on my birthday and every day in between."

Buss was previously engaged to coaching legend Phil Jackson ... but they announced their split in December 2016.

Mohr -- the former "Last Comic Standing" host and sports media personality -- was married to Nikki Cox for 10 years before filing for divorce in 2016.

The man charged with attacking Dave Chappelle onstage at the Hollywood Bowl just got sentenced to 9 months behind bars after taking a plea deal with prosecutors.

Dave's attacker, 24-year-old Isaiah Lee, was sentenced Thursday to 270 days in Los Angeles County jail after pleading no contest to a pair of misdemeanor counts -- entering a restricted area during a live event and battery -- according to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

As we reported ... Lee ran onstage in the middle of Dave's May 3 performance at the Hollywood Bowl, evading security and tackling Chappelle to the ground.

After taking Dave to the ground, Lee ran off the stage ... catching an epic beatdown before being arrested.

It was discovered Lee was carrying a replica gun with a knife blade during the incident ... and L.A. County D.A. George Gascon took a ton of heat for refusing the charge Lee with a felony. Instead, the L.A. City Attorney ultimately charged him with four misdemeanors.

We're told the weapon will now be destroyed.

Remember ... in a jailhouse interview with the NY Post in the weeks following the attack, Lee said he was bisexual and claimed he was "triggered" by Dave's LGBT jokes.

Jay Leno is breaking down the car fire that sent him to a burn unit with second- and third-degree burns ... and he's pretty cool when talking about the fiery episode.

The comedian sat down for an interview with NBC News' Hoda Kotb and told her how some mechanical work on one of his vintage cars turned ugly in the blink of an eye.

Jay says he was in his Burbank garage last month working on a 1907 White Steam Car, trying to unclog a fuel line. He says he told his friend, Dave Killackey, to blow some air through the fuel line when suddenly he was hit with a face full of gas ... and it only got worse from there.

Jay says his face caught fire when the car's pilot light ignited the fuel ... and he yelled to his friend, "I'm on fire."

Fortunately, Jay says Dave was Johnny on the spot ... pulling him out of harm's way and jumping on top of him to smother the fire.

Jay's back to business as usual already ... he's pretty casual in recalling the scary situation ... which jives with how he's been since the accident, like when he went back to the same garage just 10 days after the incident and was cracking jokes to photogs.

The "Jay Leno's Garage" host canceled some gigs while he was in the hospital but when he was released from the burn center he went right back to what he does best ... making folks laugh, even at his own expense, returning to his weekly Sunday night gig in Hermosa Beach.

San Fran's boo-fest for Elon Musk at Dave Chappelle's show is not the takeaway from that night ... not for Symba, who says the Twitter CEO was all fun and games when they linked backstage!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the budding Bay Area rapper after he snapped a flick with Elon ... and he says the billionaire mogul wasn't rattled by the crowd's response, even if his defensive tweet following the viral moment made it seem like it.

Symba is very familiar with the Chase Center hallways -- he performed during the Golden State Warriors' December 10 victory against the Boston Celtics, and tells us he's gotten cool with Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson ... and he's in awe of their basketball IQ.

Likewise, Symba's been flashing his talents ... making waves early this year opposite DJ Drama with their joint mixtape "Results Take Time" -- and he told us they're already working together on a follow-up.

The hotel staffers Mark Curry accused of racial profiling have been suspended from their jobs ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported, Mark claimed he was accosted by two employees over the weekend at The Mining Exchange hotel in downtown Colorado Springs ... and he posted video showing two staffers following him around.

Mark claims he left his room to go down to the lobby for some coffee when he was approached and asked if he was a hotel guest ... and in his video, he wonders out loud why other guests in the lobby aren't being asked the same questions.

A rep for The Mining Exchange tells TMZ ... "Employees involved in this matter have been suspended, pending further investigation."

Mark's video also showed him being asked for his ID by an attendant working the front desk.

Elon Musk is getting a frigid shoulder in San Francisco -- as if the Twitter sitch wasn't bad enough -- he got onstage with Dave Chappelle, and was practically shouted out of the arena.

The comedian was performing Sunday at the Chase Center, and toward the end of his set ... Dave brought Twitter's CEO up onstage as a special guest, which the S.F. crowd did not receive well -- raining a chorus of boos down on EM.

A few cheers could be heard as well, but as Dave noted ... it was mostly folks who weren't happy, but he kinda told them to shut it and tried to drown out the noise with a few jokes about how much he actually liked Elon, despite him being public enemy #1 online.

As for Elon ... well, he rolled with it as best as he could. He sarcastically asked Dave if this is what he was expecting -- and DC responded, "It sounds like some of the people you fired are in the audience."

That got a laugh, as did some other cracks from Dave about the tense situation -- and all the while, Elon just sorta stood around and took it. Some were expecting him to say more, as he does on Twitter, but in the end ... Dave wrapped it up by telling people there were better ways to express their protests with the man.

Another surreal moment ... when, at one point, Dave asked Elon to shout his old show's signature outro line -- "I'm rich, bitch!" -- which Elon did ... to mixed results. Fun times.

Chevy Chase is creeping up on his 80th birthday, but as busy as ever -- that's not necessarily weird for a comedy legend ... but the odd part is he's promoting 'Christmas Vacation' like it just debuted!!!

Darren Prince of Prince Marketing Group tells TMZ ... the holidays really are the most wonderful time of the year for Chevy -- he just wrapped 2 sold-out Q&A screenings of the National Lampoon classic at Foxwoods Resort Casino in CT, and he has a 2-day Comic-Con appearance in Pittsburgh this weekend.

What's more, the actor's got another 'Christmas Vacation' screening booked in Atlantic City next weekend, followed by another in Michigan. Yeah, the guy's gonna need a real vacay come Christmas Day.

We're told his team refers to December as Chevy's Super Bowl month, no doubt because of the massive popularity surrounding the movie 30 years after its release.

Darren says he's seen a resurgence of fans in recent years, making it clear a whole new generation is being introduced to the film.

Patrick Ganino, who runs Chevy's social media and travels with him, tells us Chevy really enjoys all the stories he gets to hear ... and it's now clear to him how the movie helps a lot of people through tough times, especially around the holidays.

As we reported, Chevy teamed up with Raising Cane's at the end of November ... channeling his inner Clark Griswold by lighting up an impressive Christmas display out front of a Chicago location.

Mark Curry claims he was racially profiled at a hotel in Colorado -- and the video evidence he has certainly raises some questions about why he was approached at all.

The actor/comedian posted a video this weekend that shows him hanging out in the lobby of an establishment called The Mining Exchange (a Wyndham hotel) in downtown Colorado Springs -- where he was in town for a gig a comedy club nearby.

The clip starts with Mark sitting down and enjoying some coffee, but almost instantly ... we see there are two employees standing nearby and looking over him. MC says they accosted him out of nowhere and asked if he was a guest staying there (he was, obviously).

Mark starts to question why he, of all people, is being asked this ... and jumps to the conclusion that it's because he's Black. He accuses the employees of harassing him, and wonders out loud why other guests in the lobby aren't being asked the same thing.

The employees don't really have an answer for him, and they just awkwardly stand there while Mark continues to record. Eventually, he uses the bathroom in a tense environment and is asked for his ID by a front desk attendant. Later, he enters his room and vents.

Mark says you can't be Black in America without an interrogation at some point, and he's sick of it. He posted the hotel's phone number and encouraged folks to blow them up.

One second, Patti LaBelle's getting flowers from front row fans ... the next she's getting rushed off stage to avoid a possible explosion at her show.

That's the alarming scene that played out Saturday night in Milwaukee, where Patti was performing at the Riverside Theater. She had just taken a pause between songs to talk to the crowd, and accept a bouquet from one of them ... when suddenly 2 bodyguards appeared onstage.

Patti had no clue what was happening as they quickly hauled her backstage -- she yelled out, "Hold up, wait!!!"

The confused audience was immediately evacuated after that moment of panic, and the venue eventually pulled the plug on Patti's show. Officially, it was postponed and will be rescheduled.

Trevor Noah said his final farewell to "The Daily Show" Thursday night and on his way to the exit, he got pretty emotional talking about who he credits for his knowledge and success.

Trevor ended his 7-year run hosting the Comedy Central series by paying tribute to all the Black women in his life who took the time “to inform me, to educate me, to argue with me.” Specifically, he cited his mother, grandmother and aunt for having grand ideas that nurtured him.

As he put it, "I tell people if you want to truly learn about America, talk to Black women cause, unlike everybody else, Black women can't afford to f*** around and find out."

Trevor added, "Black women, in particular, they know what s*** is. They know what happens if things do not go the way it should."

He also gave props to several "brilliant" female Black leaders ... Roxane Gay, Tressie McMillan Cottom, Zoé Samudzi and Tarana Burke.

In his opening monologue, Noah thanked his fans for tuning in and got emotional as he went down memory lane, listing all the celebrity guests he had on the show since 2016, including Oprah, Issa Rae, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and Bill Gates.

Vince Staples is boosting his acting resume with a cameo on the award-winning sitcom, "Abbott Elementary," and fans are demanding an encore!!!

The Long Beach-bred rapper guest starred as Maurice ... a potential love interest for show creator Quinta Brunson's character, Janine.

The Wednesday night episode also featured NBA champ Andre Iguodala, and it had fans doing double takes all night ... with some even getting all googly-eyed over Vince.

'Abbott' is one of the hottest tickets on TV, winning 3 Primetime Emmys after its first season on the air.

Pete Davidson is back on Instagram, but there's a catch ... it's a joint page with Eli Manning!!

Yes, the former Giants star quarterback and comedian joined forces to launch the IG page together ... debuting the account Wednesday night with an IG video in Davidson's apartment.

"Hello Instagram," Davidson said on his Giants-themed bed, "I have decided to come back, but only with the GOAT."

"Stay tuned for more photos on the gram!"

The duo shared a video and a couple of photos, including a pic of Davidson's small helmet tattoo. Eli captioned the post, "confirmed ... Pete's a Giants fan."

The guys also worked on one-handed catches (a la Eli to Odell Beckham Jr. vs. the Dallas Cowboys) ... and Davidson has hands!

Fans loved the idea of the joint account ... they flooded their comments with support, with one saying, "lmfao the link up I never knew I needed 🐐".

FYI, Pete -- who's been MIA from IG since 2018 (he occasionally returns before deactivating again)  -- and Eli already have over 17k followers, as of Thursday morning.