Coronavirus

It seemed inevitable, but TMZ has learned later Tuesday Joel Osteen and Kanye West will pull the plug on their big plan to throw a massive service at Yankee Stadium ... at least for the time being.

Sources involved in the production of the event tell us ... Osteen's people were in touch with the folks at the famed stadium, and we're told the Yankees are canceling events for the next 2 months, and that puts the Osteen/West service right in the middle.

We're told there really was no option, after Governor Cuomo put the brakes on any event with more than 50 people for the time being.

Our sources say Joel and Kanye are still determined to put the show on at Yankee Stadium ... but it will have to be some time in the future.

TMZ broke the story ... Joel will do a sermon and then Kanye will bring his choir to do their thing.

Here's Vanessa Hudgens telling the world how she really feels about the coronavirus pandemic and the quarantine -- feelings she probably should have kept inside her head.

Vanessa, apparently already bored in quarantine, decided to do a makeup tutorial Monday night, but swayed off topic when a viewer asked about the quarantine possibly lasting until July. The actress said that "sounds like a bunch of bulls**t" and then dug herself an ever-deeper hole.

She said, "Even if everybody gets it ... like, yeah ... people are gonna die, which is terrible, but like ... inevitable?" You do have to see how she said it because tone makes all the difference here, and this seems as close to tone deaf as you can get.

All the online backlash you'd expect has already begun. Even Vanessa seemed to catch herself, adding ... "Maybe I shouldn't be doing this right now." She took her own advice and continued applying makeup -- but too little, too late?

Like, yeah ... for sure.

Dr. Phil has 10 surefire ways to avoid the burning desire to wring your live-in partner's neck during coronavirus quarantine -- most of which require brutal honesty and creativity.

The good doctor dished out his suggestions Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and said it all starts with being straight-up with each other. Phil says ya just gotta acknowledge the reality ... you're gonna be cooped up together, and it's not gonna be all sunshine and flowers.

In fact, he takes it a step further -- telling us folks should make a list of things that annoy them, and yeah ... share it with the person who's annoying you.

For you '50 Shades' fans ... Phil also suggests you use a safe word. This one ain't for sex, though ... he's saying use one to defuse arguments.

He also says simple things like changing up your daily routine and actively trying NOT to be a slob can make a world of difference to your spouse, partner or roommate.

Perhaps most enlightening ... Phil, who's been married to Robin since 1976, says the first 4 minutes of each day are crucial. Watch his explanations -- it could change, or even save, your life over the next few months. And, stick around for his final tip ... it's the s**t!!!

Giada De Laurentiis is taking a page out of Tupac's book of lyrics -- saying while we're all under quarantine ... it's time to change the way we eat and change the way we live.

The celebrity chef joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" and shared some food for thought, quite literally, about coronavirus isolation forcing us to simplify. With the run on grocery store supplies, Giada says we've gotta learn to make do with fewer options.

She says the future looks bright for canned goods and frozen foods, which will become more in vogue the longer quarantines last. Giada says gone are the days of whipping up 20-ingredient dishes. You might have the time, but good luck finding supplies.

We know what you're thinking, canned veggies taste like, well, canned ... but Giada's got tips to make 'em taste way better.

The sun will come out ... and when it does someone's gonna make bank!!! Bettors benched by coronavirus shutting down sports are turning their eyes and wallets to the weather.

Bovada -- one of the country's leading online sportsbooks -- tells TMZ ... since pro sporting events, games and seasons have been canceled or postponed -- their customers are laying wagers on the site's "Weather Betting" channel. It's way less complicated than typical sports bets ... which may be a good or bad thing.

The vast majority of Bovada's weather bets are simply about the temperature in a particular U.S. city. For instance, will it be over or under a certain degree on an upcoming day. In L.A., the line is set at 61 degrees for March 18. The odds for over or under that temp are equal ... if you lay down $120 and you're on the correct side of the thermometer, you'll win $100.

Long story short, there's no favorite or underdog -- ya just gotta guess right! Now, we're not saying you're a degenerate gambler if you're wagering money on Friday's weather in Billings, Montana, but ... y'know.

Look, until the Lakers, Rockets, Yankees and Red Sox get back in the swing ... weather's all ya got.

With toilet paper disappearing from stores amid the coronoavirus pandemic, folks are looking elsewhere in their quest to clean their bottoms ... bidets!!!

Bio Bidet, one of the top-rated bidet companies in the business, tells TMZ ... sales are skyrocketing as people struggle to find TP rolls or even a square to spare.

The bidet giant tells us ... Bio Bidet saw over $250,000 in sales in a 24-hour period after the outbreak, and those figures are just from transactions on Amazon alone.

TUSHY -- also a top company -- has seen sales soar to 10x their usual and over double what they were a year ago. Brondell, another manufacturer, has also seen sales spike to close to 10x.

People are also searching for and researching bidets in droves ... company honchos tell us searches for "bidet" on Amazon rose over a thousand ranks to become one of the Top 10 most-searched items on the online retailer.

One Bio Bidet product is already sold out ... the slimedge attachment, which retails for $59 and connects directly to your freshwater supply.

It's pretty saddening to see people fighting over toilet paper in brick-and-mortar stores ... but Bio Bidet says they're committed to providing quality hygiene products to as many homes as they can, despite the unfortunate TP circumstances.

Capitalism is the s***!!!

The coronavirus is severely screwing with another artist's schedule -- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is reeling from cancelled gigs ... and it's not even the first of the month yet!

Layzie Bone was at LAX Monday night when he told us they were in the middle of touring up until Friday. Now the cancellations are pouring in, and sounds like that's going to be their new normal ... like every other touring artist.

Not to worry though, LB says he'll be putting his quarantine time to good use for the fan base, saying he'll be in the studio cranking out whatever music he can during the pandemic. He might wanna get comfy in there -- based on projections from President Trump and the CDC.

As for fans in quarantine ... Layzie has some music recommendations to help get ya through.

Strange times, for sure ... but it's great to see BTNH being able to move on from another controversy that was dogging them just weeks ago. Of course, we're referring to the temporary name change Buffalo Wild Wings dropped on 'em.

The dearly departed hopefully won't hold a grudge over low funeral turnouts -- coronavirus is keeping loved ones at home.

TMZ spoke with several prominent funeral homes in major cities across the country -- and the overall message was this ... they're scaling back, and finding innovative ways to grieve those who've passed on during the global pandemic. Prepare for morbidity, folks.

For starters, several mortuaries -- including some in Chicago, San Fran, Fort Lauderdale, New York and Los Angeles -- tell us they're planning on limiting the number of guests allowed at any given burial service in the coming weeks ... hard as that may be.

With the CDC's newest guidelines of no more than 50 bodies in one place at one time ... it sounds like just about all the parlors will attempt to honor that. The question of how is interesting though ... each spot does it differently, some with more ingenuity than others.

Chicago's Leak & Sons Funeral Home says it's considering implementing a "family only" rule for now, in hopes of keeping things compact. James C. Boyd Funeral Home in FL says it's putting a hard cap of 50 people per service ... and a morgue in NYC says they're drawing the line at just 25 at a time. A funeral joint in SF tells us they've seen customers push out funeral dates entirely, solving the problem of crowd control for them.

Now, the more innovative route is being embraced fully by a cemetery in L.A. called Hillside Memorial, where tons of celebs are buried. They say they're offering live streams as an alternative, so anyone who wants in on the service can watch from home.

Some of these other places have streaming options too, but none quite as robust as Memorial's -- which normally costs $235 a pop. Not these days though ... we're told they're waiving it in light of the new safety measures brought on by the outbreak.

So, no worries, your funeral can still get max views. 💀

R. Kelly is a man truly trapped now that coronavirus lockdowns are in full swing -- he can't get to his lawyers ... even though prison officials insist it ain't personal.

Kelly's legal team tried going to see their client last Thursday at MCC Chicago -- where he's currently behind bars -- but we're told they were blocked from entering by corrections personnel ... and officials told them it was all due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which has made its way to Chi-Town.

We're told R. Kelly's lawyers not only wanted to check on his well-being but also to talk legal strategy ... something they get together to discuss frequently, especially with the ever-mounting charges against the guy. That's all coming to a temporary halt, for now, it seems.

The last time R. Kelly had a face-to-face with his attorneys was sometime last week. It was right around then that everything started getting canceled.

A rep for the Bureau of Prisons in Illinois tells us ... jail staff is suspending visits for the next 30 days -- but it sounds like they'll allow certain legal meet-ups on a case-by-case basis.

The rep says they're making their determinations with an eye toward avoiding unnecessarily exposing inmates and others. They say they recognize the importance of allowing the inmates access to lawyers and will try to accommodate that to the greatest extent possible.

Circling back to R. Kelly ... we're told his team is trying to work out a schedule to see the singer more often than what's being outlined here. Nothing's set in stone yet though.

Dr. Oz knows folks forced to stay home over the next few weeks might go a little stir-crazy, especially couples, but he's got a simple calming solution -- as they say ... just do it!!!

We spotted Oz Monday on the empty streets of NYC, where he told us what people under quarantine should do to pass the time and avoid depression -- a legitimate concern in the current global climate.

The good doc says there's only so much TV binge-watching you should do -- he suggests doing something productive instead, like reading or picking up a new language. However, in two-person households -- he says nothing cuts the tension like a little sexual healing.

Even better, medically speaking ... Oz says bang it out early and often to keep things civil.

Machine Gun Kelly was on that same tip this weekend when he talked to us about a coronavirus baby boom.

Sen. Marco Rubio says there's no way the government is gonna implement martial law to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, and rumors to the contrary are extremely dangerous!!!

We got the Florida Senator Monday at Reagan National Airport, and he called misinformation about soldier deployment an absolute hoax ... most likely the work of Internet trolls.

As you know ... places like San Francisco are putting residents on round-the-clock curfew for the next 3 weeks to stem the virus' spread. While police can arrest people violating curfew, Rubio says that's way different from martial law.

Marco says martial law -- where government control is handed over to army -- just doesn't exist anymore in our country. He says that's not about to change, either.

Sounds like the Senator's had it up to here with "crazy people" on the Internet, and adds even "smart people" have been hitting him up all day worried about martial law.

Bottom line -- Rubio's saying don't believe the hype, in this case. Or the hoax.

BTW, the Senator was much less smooth about this topic on social. Based on the typos, we'd say he's taking Twitter tips from President Trump.

Dierks Bentley is shutting down his famed bar in Nashville but he's vowing to sink $90k directly into the pockets of his hourly employees.

The country superstar announced Monday he's closing Whiskey Row in the heart of Nashville on Lower Broadway for a while. The 5-Hour Energy spokesman said his heart goes out to everyone affected by the coronavirus. Dierks also put his money where his mouth is.

The "Drunk On A Plane" singer said he's immediately giving each one of his 90 hourly employees a thousand bucks "to help in the short run as our community and country try to get a handle on the situation."

Dierks also implored all bar owners to follow his lead, and look after their most essential and vulnerable employees ... like bar-backs, waitresses, security guards and dishwashers.

The move, of course, comes just hours after the Trump administration announced a guideline calling for no gatherings of more than 10 people, and the city of San Francisco shutting down for the next 3 weeks.

Dierks is just one of several country singers who own bars and have taken the steps to close doors to help stem the spread of the virus. Jason Aldean closed his Jason Aldean's bar and Florida Georgia Line closed "FGL House."

WrestleMania 36 has NOT been canceled -- at least not yet -- this according to our WWE sources.

There has been a ton of pressure on WWE to call off the April 5 event at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida due to the coronavirus pandemic ... since it's expected to attract more than 70,000 people!

Despite calls to postpone from local officials, WWE has not pulled the plug -- and fans around the world are wondering what Vince McMahon will do.

But, one high placed WWE source tells us there's still a chance Mania will happen in some capacity. We're told the situation is fluid. Nothing is set in stone just yet. However, one of the options on the table is a no-fan event (like UFC) but WWE will still broadcast the event live.

Of course, Mania is the biggest and most important event in pro wrestling -- the WWE calls it their Super Bowl.

But, with so many sports and entertainment companies shutting down as part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, all eyes are on WrestleMania ... which is now less than 3 weeks away.

With gyms across the country closing their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, gym rats are determined not to miss a workout ... and it's a gold rush for home gym retailers.

Home fitness companies across the country are telling us the same thing ... their products are selling like hotcakes and sales figures are setting records.

Grant Hayes of California Home Fitness Tells TMZ ... they've sold in record numbers over the past 4 days, and the weekend figures were 10 times above normal. We're told the phones are literally ringing off the hook, and it got really crazy Monday after local governments called for gyms to close.

California Home Fitness already hired 3 different delivery crews to meet demand ... and we're told folks are buying everything -- dumbbells, benches, treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, even the equipment that had been collecting dust. Dumbbells have been selling like toilet paper.

The demand is so crazy, CHF tells us they're having inventory issues because the manufacturers are running into issues getting products in from the ports.

Another retailer, New Life Cardio, tells TMZ ... sales are so unbelievable, their 10,000-square-foot retail warehouse, which was full last Sunday, is now half empty. The biggest sellers are treadmills and exercise bikes, and demand is causing them to switch to bi-weekly shipments instead of bi-monthly.

Meanwhile, folks at California Fitness tell us ... weekend sales were 15 times greater than normal, and the hottest items were treadmills, bikes and free weights. Things are so backed up, there's a 2-day delay on deliveries.

Another home gym retailer, Fit 4 Sale, tells us the company says weekend sales were 6 times higher than average ... everything was selling, but mostly dumbbells, benches and bikes. Fit 4 Sale says demand is also delaying deliveries.

And finally, Johnson Fitness & Wellness Store tells TMZ ... sales traffic is getting ridiculous -- non-stop calls and around 5 times more business than usual. Same thing here -- we're told folks are buying free weights, treadmills and ellipticals.

Mel Brooks and his very famous friends are counting on you to keep your ass at home during the coronavirus outbreak ... just ask Mel's son.

Not that the virus is any laughing matter, but Max Brooks pretty hilariously illustrated why public health officials are suggesting -- if not flat out ordering -- people to stay home. Watch the clip ... Max showed up at his dad's place, but stayed outside with a glass between them.

The renowned author, who's only 47, said, "If I get the coronavirus, I'll probably be okay, but if I give it to him ... he could give it to Carl Reiner, who could give it to Dick Van Dyke ... and before I know it, I've wiped out a whole generation of comedic legends."

Max, who wrote "World War Z," went on to encourage EVERYONE to practice social distancing.

There has been a slew of concert cancellations and postponements in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and insurance companies are slamming the door on performers who dare to ask the insurers to cover their losses.

Several prominent managers of famous artists tell TMZ, it's virtually impossible now to put on a concert ... even before President Trump urged crowds not to exceed 10 people. So there have been a bunch of concert dates where the plug has been pulled, and we're told virtually every insurance company has made it clear ... they feel they have no obligation to pay up.

We're told after SARS and MRSA some of the companies excluded pandemics from coverage. And, there are others that don't have the exclusionary language but the insurance companies still claim there's an exclusion for the latest virus.

It's created all sorts of economic problems. Artists spend a lot of money before the first stop on a concert tour ... building stages, creating video packages and hiring staff. We're told a number of artists and their reps are currently fighting the insurance companies to cover the losses.