Coronavirus

Barack Obama says he's contracted COVID-19 -- but the good news is that he's doing alright ... attributing that to the fact he's vaccinated.

The former President announced his status Sunday, writing ... "I just tested positive for COVID. I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative."

He adds, "It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down."

BO is the second living president to have tested positive for the virus -- of course, Donald Trump caught it in 2020 (right in the thick of the pandemic) and seemed to be quite ill for a bit ... as he had to take a pause on campaigning to get treatment and to quarantine.

Luckily, Joe Biden hasn't contracted COVID himself -- neither has Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush or Bill Clinton, FWIW -- even though he was at a high risk of doing so due to Trump attending that September debate, at which point he'd reportedly already tested positive.

While it's pretty shocking to hear Barack is positive, it's not all that surprising or worrisome -- especially at this point in the pandemic ... when lots of people (including politicians) have also caught it, only to come back at 100% shortly thereafter.

We've seen fully-vaccinated senators and representatives announce their COVID breakthrough cases in recent months ... and just about every one of them kicked it quickly, attributing their mild to nonexistent symptoms to the jab.

Kyrie Irving is throwing NYC's vaccine mandate policy right back in its face on primetime TV -- taking in a home game, maskless, from the stands ... but not able to step onto the court.

The awkward scene played out live Sunday during the Nets' home game against Knicks ... which was being carried by ESPN. During the 2nd quarter, the camera panned to KI, who was shaking hands with people down near the bottom of the stands, and then going up to his seat a few rows up.

In this capacity -- as a spectator -- he's totally okay to not wear a mask and move about ... as that is now NYC's policy on events like this, regardless of vaccine status. However, their rule pertaining to private employees hasn't changed -- namely, those folks have to be vaccinated, and Kyrie isn't.

Still ... the irony of the sitch reeks of hypocrisy, but more importantly ... it reeks of a lack of common sense, something that Doris Burke and other announcers broached with trepidation ... because, if we're being honest, the regulations here just don't make sense anymore.

Kyrie's former teammate, LeBron James, was not as shy about expressing his indignation over NYC's backwards thinking. In response to someone pointing out what a joke this is, he wrote ... "FACTS FACTS FACTS!! It literally makes ABSOLUTELY ZERO SENSE!!! They say if common sense was common then we’d all have it. Ain’t that the truth."

LBJ has been outspoken on the pandemic, especially the further into it we've gotten. Remember, it was just in December that he suggested the latest strains were more like the flu or the cold than anything else ... something he was slammed for at the time, as some felt he was downplaying the seriousness of the virus.

Hailey Bieber was hospitalized with a brain condition that doctors think may be COVID-related ... sources close to Hailey tell TMZ.

We're told Hailey was admitted to a Palm Springs area hospital a few days ago after suffering a "medical emergency." We're told it affected the way she moved, and the symptoms are typical for much older people. Hailey is 25.

Our sources say doctors ran a battery of tests and are looking to see if the symptoms involve COVID. As we reported, Justin came down with COVID a few weeks ago and has since recovered. As you know, Justin had to postpone his Vegas concert after coming down with the virus.

We're told Hailey has been released from the hospital and doctors are still trying to determine what caused the issues.

Our sources say she's now doing ok.

BTS fans had to get innovative in how to celebrate their favorite band -- with standing, singing and shouting prohibited at a recent concert -- but they were still able to bring the noise.

The supergroup just stepped off the stage after a massive show in South Korea Thursday night. While more than 15,000 were on hand for the show, everyone had to follow strict COVID protocols, set by the government.

In a statement before the show, BTS' management co. Big Hit Music said, "Cheering loudly, yelling, chanting and standing up during 'BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul' is strictly prohibited according to government guidelines."

However, fans were provided with "clappers" -- and they used them to full potential -- synchronizing claps to the songs, and making plenty of noise in the process.

Thursday's show was the first of 3 the group, who hails from South Korea, will have in their home country ... it's the first they've performed there since the pandemic.

Justin Bieber's Justice Tour is back in full swing after the singer's bout with COVID-19 ... and his L.A. stop was full of surprises.

JB fans packed into Crypto.com Arena Monday night where the singer played all his hits. He also brought out some of his famous friends to share the stage -- including Leon Bridges, who played "River," Don Toliver for "Don't Go" and Quavo for "Intentions."

The show was nearly two hours -- with a 24 song setlist -- which included some of his newer stuff like "Peaches," "Ghost" and "Anyone" along with his classics like "Sorry," "Baby" and "Boyfriend."

Bieber also took some time to address the crowd, sharing a message that sometimes it's okay to not be okay ... and that even the world's biggest stars have their struggles.

Of course, Justin was referencing his struggles during his teenage years, including a DUI arrest back in 2014, and his more recent battle with Lyme Disease.

Queen Elizabeth seems to have bounced back from COVID ... because she hosted Justin Trudeau for her first in-person engagement since beating the virus.

The Queen seemed in good spirits as she welcomed the Canadian PM with a smile Monday at Windsor Castle.

The two shook hands and shared a warm embrace. He's in the UK to meet with PM Boris Johnson, Netherlands PM Mark Rutte and other allies to talk about the war in Ukraine.

The queen and Trudeau have known each other since he was a child and his dad served as the Canadian PM ... so it make sense he would stop to see the longest reigning monarch.

The 95-year-old monarch tested positive for Covid-19 back in February. Her symptoms were mild ... and she even performed light duties as the virus ran its course.

BTW, Queen Elizabeth moved to Windsor Castle at the start of the pandemic, back in 2020. Originally, she lived about an hour away in Buckingham Palace and visited the castle for weekend getaways. But, now she'll likely live permanently at the castle.

Matthew McConaughey has a head full of hair ... and in return, he's become a walking billboard for the company that helped him achieve his full mane ... a Co. that says he helped their biz during a dire time.

ICYMI ... Matt recently shut down rumors that a hair transplant was the culprit of his incredible hair transformation. Instead, he said that Regenix's daily hair ointment saved him. Well, we talked to the folks at the company, and they say it is actually Matt who saved their business.

Bill Edwards, CEO of Regenix tells TMZ ... McConaughey has been a customer of the hair ointment brand since 1999. It wasn't until he gave the company a shoutout on the 'Late Show' in 2001 that it began to see a huge uptick of customers from all over the world.

The 'McConaughey effect' increased demand to where the company had to initiate a new mail-order program for potential International clients. Under this new program, folks send hair samples in, and Regenix designs a tailored plan to regrow hair.

So, when the pandemic hit in 2020, Regnix's brick and mortar clinic in L.A. was forced to shut down ... and the company decided to go all-in on expanding their existing mail-order program. In return, Bill says they didn't lose a single customer.

Bill says, Matt helped the hair treatment company on multiple fronts -- getting more customers and giving them a new way to withstand the Covid-19 business doom.

It appears the NFL just declared the pandemic over ... 'cause the league and the players association have put an end to all of their COVID-19 protocols, including testing, mask-wearing, and contact tracing.

The NFL and NFLPA sent a joint memorandum to all 32 organizations announcing the decision ... citing "encouraging trends regarding the prevalence of COVID-19."

The league and PA say they will no longer conduct mandatory tests, regardless of whether a player is vaccinated or not.

They've also done away with the high-tech tracker -- called a Kinexon device -- that players were required to wear at all times, which was used to alert officials of any close contacts with infected individuals.

There's more. Teams can now take down all the signage instructing players to socially distance, wear masks, etc.

That's because masks ... they're no longer required, either.

Now, it's worth noting that state and local laws supersede the NFL's rules ... so, if you live in a city or state that still requires the masks, the new guidelines don't necessarily apply.

When it came to the virus, the NFL was very strict. There were several high-profile clashes between the league and a few top players including Aaron Rodgers, Cole Beasley, and Antonio Brown.

Rodgers was fined for allegedly misleading team and league officials on his vax status. Beasley was hit with $100K+ in fines for multiple COVID-19 protocol violations. Brown was suspended 3 games for providing a fake vaccination card.

Huge victory for Novak Djokovic -- the Serbian tennis star is now expected to play in the French Open after French officials announced they will lift the country's vaccine passport mandate this month.

France had initially barred the unvaccinated from participating in events like the major tennis tournament ... citing health and safety reasons.

Of course, that rule was slated to preclude Djokovic from playing in May's tournament ... because, well, the guy is famously not vaccinated and said earlier this year he would absolutely miss any event that had a mandate in place.

But, officials announced Thursday the order is coming to an end on March 14 ... and with the tourney set to begin on May 22, Djokovic is now slated to, once again, be a participant.

It's a big deal for Djokovic ... because after he was barred from the Australian Open in January, Rafael Nadal ended up winning the tournament and overtaking Djokovic for most career majors with 21 total.

It's still unclear if 34-year-old Novak will be able to play in any other majors following the French Open -- mandates are still in place all over the globe.

Jesse Williams and his ex-wife, Aryn Drake-Lee, have reached a child custody agreement -- one that allows for him to do a Broadway play, and also gives him veto power on COVID-19 issues for their 2 kids.

According to docs, the exes were in court last week when the judge signed off on a few custody modifications. Although Aryn and Jesse maintain shared legal custody ... the judge denied her request to reduce his physical time with the kids -- presumably because he's gonna be spending a lot of time in NYC.

The former "Grey's Anatomy" star was hanging at a Knicks game back in January, but he'll be working in the Big Apple soon ... starring in the Broadway production, "Take Me Out" from March thru June.

As a result, the judge is now giving Jesse 4 consecutive days with the children -- 8-year-old Sadie and 6-year-old Maceo -- in NYC each month, and 2 of those days can be weekends.

Talk about a sign of the times ... the agreement also addresses how they will handle COVID disputes. The judge granted Jesse "tie-breaking authority" for 2022 if, for some reason, he and Aryn can't agree on things like vaccinations or face masks for the kids.

One more thing ... no flip-flopping on parenting time for Jesse. At Aryn's request, the judge agreed the actor can't cancel and then "uncancel" his scheduled daddy time.

Today might not be a terrible day for Rafael dos Anjos, after all ... 'cause although his UFC 272 opponent Rafael Fiziev is out of their bout after testing positive for COVID-19, Dana White tells us they're trying to find someone to fight RDA on 5 days notice.

37-year-old dos Anjos and 28-year-old Fiziev were the co-main event (Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington is the main event) ... but the fight was scrapped on Monday after RF tested positive for coronavirus.

So, when White joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV Show (airs weekdays on FS1), we asked if he was looking for a replacement, or whether there just simply wasn't enough time.

"We're working on getting him a new opponent. We'll keep that fight. We'll get him something," Dana says.

It's not the first time RDA vs. Fiziev has been canceled. In fact, the men were initially supposed to fight on February 19 at UFC Fight Night ... but the fight was scrapped because RF had "Visa issues," according to reports.

Now the question is ... who does RDA fight?

The former lightweight champ has been going back-and-forth online with Islam Makhachev ... but the fighter from Dagestan just beat Bobby Green on Saturday (albeit only took 98 seconds).

As for Fiziev ... he says he's crushed by the latest developments.

"I’m devastated to announce that I’m out of the fight. I had a great camp and was ready to put on the show, I flew all the way to Vegas from Thailand just to get sick with covid, for 3 days I’m in hotel bed with fever, bones pain and cough."

There's much more with Dana.

Paul George is opening up about his struggles in the NBA bubble ... saying he couldn't sleep for 2 WEEKS -- and it played a huge role in his performance on the court.

The Clippers forward joined former teammate Serge Ibaka on his "How Hungry Are You?" cooking show recently ... and detailed how mentally and physically taxing his time at the Disney World campus in Orlando was in 2020.

"A lot of it was just weighing on me," George told Ibaka. "For one, I wasn't sleeping. No lie, I probably went a good week and a half, 2 weeks of 0 sleep. I would lay in bed and my mind would be racing."

PG told Serge that his lack of sleep was so concerning, he tried using different solutions -- from taking naps to therapy to using sleeping gummies to remedy the problem.

Of course, George was pretty inconsistent throughout the 2020 NBA playoffs ... and he says it was extra tough on him because there was no way to escape.

Ultimately, Paul admits his sleep deprivation negatively affected his performance on the court ... but he's not making excuses for blowing a 3-1 series lead against the Denver Nuggets.

"I ain't gon' make no excuses on it ... he said. "We just blew it."

Longtime NBA referee Ken Mauer says he was forced out of the league ... after refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine due to religious reasons.

The 36-year NBA veteran joined Jason Whitlock on his show, "Fearless"... and revealed the reason he's been MIA from the hardwood this year is because of the league's vax mandate.

“I never thought that my faith in our Lord Jesus Christ would prevent me or stop me or get in the way of me refereeing NBA basketball games. That’s what’s happened,” Mauer said. “Not to just me, but other people.”

Mauer -- who was raised Catholic -- told the BlazeTV host that after doing his own research he has concerns about the jab -- explaining he believes aborted fetal tissue was used in the development of the vax.

The 66-year-old told Whitlock that as many as 17 referees initially opposed the vax mandate that the NBA included in the collective bargaining agreement before the season started.

FYI, there is currently no vaccine mandate for players.

Ken also said many of his colleagues didn't want to take the vaccine ... but ultimately felt forced to get jabbed because their livelihood and ability to provide for their family was at stake.

"There are many referees who were forced to because they have children, they have families, and they have bills to pay," Mauer said. "They’re scared and I’m not. I’m never going to take the vaccine."

Mauer expressed no regrets over his decision to remain unvaccinated ... and says he thinks it's a shame workers across the country are being bullied into getting the shot.

Evangeline Lilly has a word or 2 for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- that he should have a word or 2 with the striking truckers.

The "Ant-Man" star went in pretty hard on the PM, telling the Bridge City News, "Why won't you sit with them? They have asked to meet with you, Prime Minister, medical experts, top scientists, doctors, nurses, parents, grandparents, intelligent, loving, concerned citizens?"

Lilly, who was born in Alberta, went on ... "If you're so convinced of your own reasons for the mandates, sit down and walk the leaders of a group of 2.3 million protesters across the country who represent many millions more across the nation, and explain it to them and ask them to listen with open hearts and minds, and then reciprocate. Listen to what they have to say with a mind open to hearing things that might go against the ideas you are entrenched in."

Trudeau has shown zero tolerance for the truckers, who protested under the banner of the "Freedom Convoy," after they blocked a key artery that connects Canada with the U.S. They're largely protesting vaccine mandates, but Trudeau has gone to great lengths to choke their resources to end it, even declaring a national emergency.

Quinton Aaron, best known for his role in "The Blind Side," has dropped a whopping 100 pounds!!!

Quinton tells TMZ ... he gained quite a bit of weight during the pandemic, binge eating at home and developing a hankering for chocolate ... something he didn't have before the virus hit.

He says he would start his morning by eating 2 jumbo-sized KitKat packs and 2 Reese's packs. If he went out to eat, he would end his meal with a chocolate dessert. He also ate a lot of bread ... sometimes 2 large sandwiches in one sitting.

Quinton tells us ... he wanted to make a change because he has a lot of professional goals with his production company and music.

"I used the new year as a way to get a new me," he says ... and that work paid off! He went from 559 pounds to 462 lbs.

He cut candy bars and bread from his diet. He's eating Cobb salads for lunch and sticking to a keto diet ... along with fasting. He's also been walking and doing stretching exercises.

Now, he says he wants to drop another 64 lbs by May 10 to honor his late mom on her birthday -- which was his weight during "The Blind Side" movie.

His overall goal is to get between 300-325 pounds.

After an electric opening night, Justin Bieber's tour has hit a speed bump ... we've learned the singer has tested positive for COVID-19, and at least one concert date has been postponed.

A rep for the singer tells TMZ Justin found out Saturday he had COVID, but thankfully is feeling OK. Justin was supposed to perform at T-Mobile Arena Sunday in Vegas, but now that show has been moved to the summer.

Justin is then supposed to stop in Glendale, AZ for a show Tuesday before hitting The Forum in Los Angeles Thursday. We don't know when he contracted the virus, so it's unclear if those concerts will also be put on ice.

Bieber's had a busy last week ... performing at The h.wood Group and REVOLVE's Super Bowl Party last Friday before hitting the road.

Justin opened The Justice World Tour Friday night in San Diego. His wife Hailey Bieber was in the audience for what looked like an amazing show.

As we reported, Justin plans on rewarding fans throughout tour stops who step up and help with initiatives like climate change, voter registration and criminal justice reform.