Coronavirus

Kanye West and his Sunday Service Choir were slated to join Joel Osteen for a special Easter performance ... but it's been canceled for safety concerns.

Sources with knowledge tell TMZ Joel and Kanye were in contact Friday working out the final details of Sunday's virtual spot. We're told Kanye and choir were going to be in Los Angeles and record a few songs for Joel.

Kanye's choir -- which at times has more than 100 members -- were planning to wear masks and maintain appropriate social distancing positions. However, once everything was laid out, Kanye decided it just didn't feel safe enough for everyone involved, and he couldn't carry out his vision, so he decided to pull the plug.

All is certainly not lost for Joel's Easter Sunday though ... as we reported, he'll still have Mariah Carey performing "Hero" and Tyler Perry to offer words of encouragement to those who tune in to the online service.

WWE Superstar Big Show says he felt 100% safe being in the squared-circle during the coronavirus pandemic ... and tells TMZ Sports he's ready for more action!!!

Of course, the legend wrestled new WWE champ Drew McIntyre on Monday Night Raw earlier this week -- the day after McIntyre beat Brock Lesnar.

Given the current state of the world, we asked Big Show if he felt comfortable taking part in the event ... and the simple answer? Hell yes.

"Absolutely, 100%," Big Show tells us ... pointing out WWE is being extremely cautious every step of the way while still putting on a show for fans.

"I think it's a win-win for everyone."

And, when Big Show isn't wrasslin' with superstars, he tells us he's spending some of his free time helping his friend who can't go outside by taking care of the landscaping!!

"In this time of uncertainty and these stressful times, there's stuff I try to help out friends. I can cut grass, I can move tree debris up from the back of the yard."

"At least when that person is for whatever reason they have to stay in the house, they can look outside and see the yard looks good."

If that's not enough, we also talked to the new TV star about his successful sitcom, "The Big Show Show" ... and he has nothing but kind words for his castmates and the people who made it happen ... especially the fans tuning in!!

The Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are not being told to shelter at home, at least not in Montana, where the governor is telling kids the magical entities are free to roam around.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock just sent a super-cute letter to all the kids and families in his state ... telling them their Easter Sunday won't be ruined by COVID-19, because hiding eggs and swiping teeth are now essential services.

The way Steve sees it ... the Easter Bunny is essential because it hides Easter eggs, supports the chocolate-egg industry and brings springtime joy to Montanans.

As for the Tooth Fairy, the governor says it's an essential time for lost tooth collection and payments, with all the little ones chowing down on chocolate, Peeps and other treats.

Elves, unicorns and friendly dragons are also being deemed essential in Montana ... as long as they maintain their social distancing during essential travel. Six feet means six feet!!!

But, there's a catch ... the governor says the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy must do their jobs, which means they gotta leave behind eggs, chocolates and fair market value for teeth.

Babyface is counting his blessings on his birthday ... he says he and his family tested positive for the novel coronavirus, but now they are no longer infected with COVID-19.

The singer and mega-producer shared the health update Friday on social media ... Babyface says he and his fam tested positive for COVID-19, but now they've tested negative for the deadly virus and are on the mend.

Babyface says the entire saga was incredibly scary to go through with his family and friends ... but now he's happy to report they made it through the fire.

The timeline remains unclear, Babyface doesn't get too specific or offer many details, but he says he's ready to get back to what he does best, making music.

Babyface is the latest celeb to share a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 ... joining Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Idris Elba, Chris Cuomo, YNW Melly and others.

The people of Los Angeles County will have to remain on lockdown for at least another month ... county officials have extended an order until May 15.

L.A. County's public health director, Barbara Ferrer, made the announcement Friday during a press conference. The "Safer-at-Home" initiative has closed public beaches, most parks and hiking trails, and limits movement to essential places like the grocery store or doctor's offices.

Angelinos have seen a drastic change when out in public ... most people wear masks or some sort of face-covering device ... and social distancing signs are posted in grocery store checkout lines.

The initiative has obviously been a major hit to the restaurants and local businesses, though many have launched carry-out food programs to continue some sort of revenue stream.

The order had originally only been in place until April 19, but at the time, it was subject to extension.

Six Flags Theme Parks continues charging thousands of customers at full price, despite being closed ... so claims the angry customer who's now filed a lawsuit.

Shahriyar Rezai-Hariri is suing the SoCal-based theme park in a class-action lawsuit claiming Six Flags “made the baffling decision to keep charging all of its customers monthly membership fees while prohibiting access to Six Flags Magic Mountain” as the coronavirus spread across the world.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Rezai-Hariri says the park closed on March 13 but “unlike its competitors in the industry, [Six Flags] continued charging its thousands of customers monthly fees — at full price.” He also claims the company is able to keep charging customers "without their consent" because it has their credit and debit cards on file from when they initially bought the passes.

Rezai-Hariri is suing because he says it's unfair for Six Flags to deliberately bilk customers while its parks are closed. He's suing on behalf of all customers dealing with the continued monthly charges ... and claims damages will exceed $5 million.

It should be noted ... a rep for Six Flags told us last week it's only charging pass holders who elect to continue to pay. And, those that do will get rewarded with a free pass upgrade. Those who do not want to keep paying are instructed to reach out to the company.

Travis Barker says he loves everything about being in quarantine, except for what put him there -- that damn coronavirus.

The Blink-182 drummer, who normally spends a ton of time on the road, says he's enjoying this unprecedented amount of time at home. He spent a little of it with us for Friday's "TMZ Live" and talked about all the lemonade he's making outta lemons.

Travis said the best thing about quarantine is getting to spend more time hanging with his family than ever before. He's also stepped up his home recording skills, and says he's been collaborating with other musicians ... electronically, of course.

Along those same lines ... Blink-182 just dropped a new song, "Happy Days," and it's literally showing how people are trying to stay positive while awaiting better days in the future.

Ya gotta see the music video ... Travis explains how the band got their socially distant fans involved, along with cameos from Machine Gun Kelly, Bella Thorne and Steve-O.

We have even more with Trav on "TMZ Live" ... catch Friday's episode to see what he and his kids have been doing more than ever with all this QT.

As for his life post-quarantine, Travis told us how the music industry might change ... permanently.

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has a hilarious -- yet, super-effective -- way to keep basketball players from hitting the courts during the coronavirus pandemic ... giving a heavy dose of reality.

"Your jump shot is always gonna be weak. Stay out of the parks."

And, as Kelso from "That '70s Show" would say ... BURNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!

Look, the message is clear -- you're not gonna be Anthony Davis, so why practice your mid-range in the middle of a global emergency!?

As we previously reported ... the situation is getting so serious that NYC's public basketball courts have been shut down during the pandemic ... and 51% of rims have been removed from hoops to keep people away.

That's a pretty effective move, but Mayor Lightfoot solved the whole issue with one tweet.

Surgeon General Jerome Adams is making a plea to African Americans and Latino Americans to combat the coronavirus, but he might have tried to be a little too cool about it.

Adams was at the podium for Friday's White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing when he addressed the issue of the virus disproportionately affecting minorities -- especially African Americans. You could tell, he wanted to relate.

He urged folks to follow government guidelines for social distancing, if not for themselves ... for their abuelas, big mamas, pop-pops and granddaddies.

Seems he covered every ethnicity nickname for old folks ... but on the Internet, at least, it went over like a fart in church. Haters are giving him crap for pandering to minorities.

Still, Adams had the right intent here ... saving lives. Especially, in the face of the data about the startling rate of infection for minority groups.

This is the same guy who mobilized Kylie Jenner and her followers to encourage young people to stay home. So, he usually gets it right.

We've got no one to blame but ourselves for the COVID-19 pandemic ... according to wildlife expert Jeff Corwin, who says the problem goes way beyond Chinese wet markets.

The famed biologist host put it bluntly Friday on "TMZ Live" when he told us reckless human behavior -- such as over-hunting of species and mass deforestation -- creates prefect conditions for new bugs, like the coronavirus, to cause pandemics.

He adds we've "literally pushed animals to the brink and species on the edge" by destroying their habitats. Jeff says the more contact we and our food sources -- such as livestock -- have with those previously wild areas, the greater the chance for a new virus to jump to humans.

Coachella was supposed to kick off Friday with tens of thousands of fans flooding the desert ... instead it's been reduced to a ghost town.

The Empire Polo Club grounds, where thousands would park their asses and fire up their Instagram accounts lay bare ... almost like a scene out of "I am Legend."

The streets are empty and entrances to parking lots are also closed. As we reported ... Coachella -- as well as Stagecoach -- postponed the festival from April to October due to the rising cases of the novel coronavirus.

TMZ broke the story ... hotels are also taking a massive hit with attendees requesting refunds. Employees at various hotels we spoke to said it's unclear if they'll make up the loss of revenue come October.

But, for those who still wanna scratch their Coachella itch may find solace in this ... Coachella is slated to drop a documentary about the festival's history at noon Friday. Not coincidentally, it's the exact time doors were scheduled to open.

The documentary's dubbed "Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert" ... and it'll give fans an in-depth look at the festival's origins and some of the best performances in history. Fans can find the doc on YouTube.

As you know by now ... Travis Scott, Rage Against the Machine and Frank Ocean are just some of the many artists who were scheduled to perform.

Coachella -- reportedly the nation's most profitable festival -- has already said all purchases for the April dates will be honored for the rescheduled October dates.

The XFL just laid off ALL of its employees in wake of its canceled season ... and now, TMZ Sports has learned the league will need a miracle to survive.

We're told XFL execs informed their staff Friday that they were being terminated ... and a source says the league is officially now on its death bed.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo adds employees will be paid through this Sunday.

Remember, the XFL just kicked off its rebooted season this year with hopes of building a strong enough fan base to make the league an annual spring tradition.

But, the COVID-19 pandemic forced play to halt suddenly last month ... and we're told with the lay-offs Friday, it's unclear if there will ever be another XFL game played.

We're told the league will keep a skeleton staff together to handle the business side of things ... and officials are still evaluating their next steps.

If it is the end ... the league had a solid run this year -- with several players, including Houston Roughnecks QB P.J. Walker, signing NFL contracts this offseason.

We've reached out to the league for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

The last thing on Dr. Anthony Fauci's mind during a pandemic is who should play him on 'SNL', but ya gotta love how quickly he pivoted and opted for Brad Pitt.

Dr. Fauci was on CNN Friday morning when anchor Alisyn Camerota wrapped up the interview with a lighter note. She pointed out 'SNL' is coming back this weekend and asked which actor's best to slip into his shoes.

Ya gotta see Dr. Fauci's response. Of course, it's not shocking he picked Brad, but it's more about who he did NOT pick!

As for 'SNL' ... the show announced Thursday it would return this weekend since suspending production in mid-March due to the pandemic. It was initially set to return from hiatus on March 28 with John Krasinski hosting and musical guest Dua Lipa.

It's unclear if the show will air live or be taped in advance. NBC says it's producing the show remotely and it will include new content, like "Weekend Update." The show posted on Twitter a pic of the cast members on a video call. The tweet was captioned #SNLAtHome.

Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas are still getting out for fresh air during the pandemic, but they're making sure to follow proper face covering guidelines while their pups get some exercise.

Ben and his new Hollywood girlfriend were spotted out for a stroll in L.A. again this week -- in between rain showers -- but this time they were wearing masks to protect themselves and others from potential coronavirus exposure.

As we reported ... they were also seen on a romantic walk a couple weeks ago, but a lot's changed since then. For starters, the importance of face coverings is now being stressed by the CDC to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Secondly, it seems the couple has added another dog to their quarantine outings. They're still packing on the PDA, though ... so stay-at-home life together must be going pretty well.

Ben and Ana met on the set of the film "Deep Water" and have been getting very close lately, beginning when they were first spotted hanging out in Ana's native country of Cuba.

Then, when Ben was seen playing the perfect Instagram boyfriend a little while later ... ya knew things were getting real.