Coronavirus

Rapper Mo Fayne's going to spend a long, long time behind bars, but if he expects a sigh of relief after his release he better think twice ... 'cause it won't be easy sailing once he's out.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" star will be on a tight leash when he's done serving his 17.5-year prison sentence for his role in a PPP loan fraud case.

Pretty much everything in Mo's life will be under scrutiny during his 5 years of supervised release after he gets out of prison. One of the conditions is that Mo will have to participate in a mental health treatment program.

He'll also have to take part in a substance abuse treatment program and submit to testing to determine if he has used a prohibited substance. But, that's not all.

The rapper must also make full and complete disclosure of his finances and submit to an audit of his financial docs at the request of his probation officer. And, things will be a little complicated if he wants to get a new credit card because Mo needs the approval of his probation officer to incur new credit charges or open additional lines of credit.

As we first reported ... the 38-year-old was sentenced to 210 months in prison after he pled guilty to 6 counts, including bank and wire fraud. He's also been ordered to pay a huge restitution bill ... totaling a cool $4,465,865.55.

Oscar De La Hoya is obviously feeling great after his COVID hospital stay -- some 7 days after the fact, he was putting his lungs to good use ... with some movie-themed karaoke.

The boxing champ was out in Pasadena this past Wednesday, hitting a place called the Der Wolf bar for some evening time show tunes ... where he got on the mic to sing "Shallow" -- yes, the Lady Gaga song from "A Star is Born."

In video obtained by TMZ, you can see ODLH reading lyrics off the monitor and belting out the second verse (Gaga's part) ... with bar-goers enthusiastically helping him out. Seems like a crowd favorite! He flubs a bit as he goes along -- but carries on nicely regardless.

It's a 180 from how Oscar was doing just a week and change prior -- when he was hospitalized for a handful of days for a nasty bout with COVID ... which prevented him from fighting Vitor Belfort, and requiring Evander Holyfield to step in (and get TKO'd).

Clearly, Oscar's doing great after that ... and maybe this outing means he'll get back in the ring sooner than later. Assuming he doesn't get sick again, that is, in a mask-less environment (like this).

Trinidad James is not onboard the trash Nicki Minaj train for putting out bogus information on COVID vaccines, saying she's an important voice and deserves respect.

We got the Trinidadian-American rapper Friday at LAX, and he seemed frustrated people were going after Nicki hard after she said she heard someone in Trinidad had a reaction to the vaccine that enlarged his balls. There's never been such case that was verified, and health officials in Trinidad were pissed they wasted time trying to track down the phantom person with such an affliction.

Trinidad James says Nicki and the health minister should sit down and have a chitchat, but it's unclear what good that would do ... he's already said she's off base, though TJ doesn't seem to necessarily buy it.

He also gives a peek into COVID on the island. He says Trinidad is so small, just a few cases trigger much greater concern than in the U.S., which views coronavirus on a much larger scale.

Bruno Mars will bring the Uptown Funk to the ritzy shores of Cape Cod this weekend -- and he's gonna make serious bank for doing it ... at the wedding of a powerful CEO's son.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Bruno's been hired to perform at the wedding of Troy Brown and Kristin Ryan, and while those names might not ring any bells ... Troy's dad's does.

Motorola Solutions Inc. CEO Greg Brown, aka father of the bridegroom, booked Mr. "24K Magic" for the event going down at a super swanky hotel in the area, and spared no expense. We're told the wedding tab is in the millions.

Bruno, of course, will get a handsome slice of that ... we're told his performance price tag will hover somewhere between the high six-figure to seven-figure range.

As for the wedding guest list, it's unclear how many will attend, but the bride and groom are only allowing those who've been vaccinated to witness their "I Do's" ... and put their pinky fingers to the moon.

So if any possible guests had reservations about getting a COVID jab ... maybe a free Bruno concert convinced them to suck it up and take one for the team.

UFC fighter Dan Hooker's fight against Nasrat Haqparast is in serious jeopardy ... with the lightweight begging for a visa to make it to Vegas for UFC 266 next Saturday.

31-year-old Hooker -- who is from Auckland, New Zealand -- sent out a public cry for help to the U.S. Embassy’s Kevin Covert on Twitter on Thursday.

FYI -- Auckland is currently experiencing widespread COVID-19 outbreaks ... which has led the government to require folks to stay home and remain in bubbles.

Hooker tweeted at Covert in hopes of getting his situation handled ASAP ... saying, "Hi Kevin, apologies for messaging on here but it’s a last resort."

"My visa is with the US embassy here in NZ as I fight next week in Las Vegas on #UFC266 Update today is it won’t be approved until next week due to lock down which will cancel my fight. Please help."

"The embassy has my passport and all the completed documentation, all I need is it to be processed and returned," he added.

"This is an absolute last resort."

Hooker is slated to fight 26-year-old Haqparast --who is 5-2 since joining the UFC in 2017 -- on September 25.

Brian Ortega vs. Alex Volkanovski and Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler are also on the card.

The embassy responded to Hooker's tweet by asking him to reach out to them directly ... so it seems they may be on the case.

Wendy Williams was taken to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation one day before it was announced that the new season of her show would be delayed due to COVID issues ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Wendy tell us the talk show host was voluntarily admitted to an NYC hospital Tuesday for a psych evaluation. Our sources say Wendy has struggled with mental health issues for some time, so this was not a big shock.

On top of that, Wendy does have COVID, but she's asymptomatic, and doctors continue to monitor her physical health as well.

It's uncertain when she'll be released, but we're told her mental health continues to improve each day. And, our sources say, her COVID is still in check with no real symptoms.

Wendy's 13th season was set to premiere Sept. 20, but that's been pushed to Oct. 4.

However, last week producers revealed she was dealing with "ongoing health issues" and would not be able to make it to promotional activities as she was being evaluated.

Nicki Minaj's tweet about her cousin's friend becoming impotent and getting swollen testicles has really blown up ... to the point where she's getting chided both on American soil and beyond.

Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh blasted the rapper Wednesday, calling her claim about one person's alleged side effect of the COVID vaccine on the Caribbean island bogus.

The health minister said the reason it took his department a couple days to respond is because they were looking into Minaj's comments, adding ... "Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim."

As you know ... Nicki's received major backlash ever since she tweeted about why she's hesitant to get vaccinated, which included the anecdote about her cousin's friend in Trinidad.

It led to senior health officials like Dr. Fauci condemning her unscientific claim, but Nicki later claimed she was invited to The White House to speak with medical experts and get educated on the vax.

However, a WH official later clarified that it did NOT extend an invite for Minaj to visit, but simply offered to hop on a phone call to discuss questions about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID vaccine after her tweets.

Nicki has not taken too kindly to this clarification, and responded with a 14-minute Instagram video claiming she was invited ... and suggesting she's being made out to look like a liar.

For what it's worth, Nicki also claimed her Twitter account had been suspended, but the company denied taking any action against the account.

Cardi B's a mother of 2 now ... so she's asking the judge to postpone the trial over her 'Gangsta Bitch' cover art, which she was sued over nearly 4 years ago.

If you don't recall ... the album cover for Cardi's debut mixtape -- "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" -- features the rapper sitting back, drinking a beer, while a man with an elaborate back tattoo puts his head between her legs.

Kevin Brophy sued over the image, claiming that's 100 percent him in the image, but he never posed for the photo or gave Cardi permission to use his likeness. He also claimed the ordeal ruined his life and wanted at least $5 mil in damages.

The trial was finally slated for next month, but Cardi's filed new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- asking for a delay because she just gave birth to her son on Sept. 4.

According to the docs ... Cardi doesn't believe she should be required to travel all the way from the East Coast to Southern California next month, because she needs to be with her newborn for obvious reasons.

She also brings up the risks of COVID from travel and spending extended periods of time in public places, such as airports, hotels, and the courthouse. So, she's asking the court to put the trial on ice for at least 75 days.

Nicki Minaj is fiercely defending herself after letting it be known she won't be getting the COVID-19 vaccine until she's done enough research.

Nicki responded to tweets practically all of Monday night after she'd posted an explanation for her absence from the Met Gala, which required all guests to be vaccinated. She declared, if she gets vaccinated "it won't [be] for the Met. It'll be once I feel I've done enough research. I'm working on that now."

Then, about 20 minutes later, she dropped the tweet that still has social media fired up today. Nicki said her cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine cuz "his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen." She added that "his friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied."

Nicki isn't pleased that anecdote is the one grabbing headlines. She's pointing out her critics are purposely ignoring her prior tweets encouraging people to get vaccinated, wear masks and be safe.

She also shared a screenshot of news headlines and called them all lies. Nicki wrote, "3 lies in a row from huge news platforms. I cited my young child as why I didn’t want to travel. But notice how NONE of them mentioned that? Ask yourself why that was."

Nicki also shared that she came down with COVID while preparing for this year's VMAs ... and she feared passing it to her son, who was born last September.

She tweeted, "Do u know what it is not to be able to kiss or hold your tiny baby for over a week? A baby who is only used to his mama?"

Apparently, Nicki's now satisfied with her research -- she relented she will eventually get the vaccine, because she'll have to travel and go on tour.

The Met Gala is back after a year off due to COVID, and it looks like the stars were chomping at the bit to put on their best suits and dresses in a return to normalcy.

This year's hosts include Keke Palmer, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, Timothee Chalamet and Naomi Osaka -- and they've already arrived in with their own getups ... which were eye-popping and extravagant.

Some of the stars expected to show include Rihanna, J Lo, Kim K, Emily Ratajkowski, Camila Cabello, Lupita N'yongo, Beyonce, Addison Rae and more. This year's theme is "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" -- so we'll see wears to rep that.

We know what you're thinking ... what about the Delta variant? There are strict protocols in place to help mitigate that -- including requirements for proof of vaccination prior to showing up, not to mention a negative COVID test as well. Masks indoors are also required.

Remember -- last year's Met Gala got scrapped altogether due to the pandemic ... so, it's been a year-plus since folks have been able to flex their fashion muscles anew.

Cedric Ceballos says he's now COVID-free ... but there's bad news, he's still far from 100 percent -- explaining Monday he's still in the ICU with serious breathing issues.

Ceballos -- the 1992 NBA Dunk Contest champ -- posted a photo of himself in the ICU last Tuesday ... saying COVID-19 was "officially kicking my butt."

The 52-year-old asked for fans to pray for his recovery ... and on Monday, he announced he's now testing negative for COVID.

But, Ceballos clearly ain't out of the woods yet, 'cause he said the effects of the virus are still wreaking havoc on his body.

"I still CAN NOT breathe, walk or function on my own yet (so PLEASE no phone calls, it’s to much work and hard to understand me)," the former Los Angeles Lakers player said on his social media pages.

"I am out of isolation, due to not having covid, but still in ICU, I will still fight and I ask for uplifting on your end."

Ceballos added, "Continue to be nice to one another and I pray we will talk soon."

Ceballos -- who's received prayers from everyone from Paul George to the NBA itself while battling the coronavirus -- played 11 seasons in the Association, and famously won the 1992 Slam Dunk Contest with an epic blindfold slam.

Jeff Bridges has some great news for his fans -- the dude's cancer has all but disappeared ... and not just that, he's on the upswing after a nasty bout of COVID too.

The legendary actor provided the update Monday, posting a handwritten note -- in his own cursive handwriting, no less -- telling people the enormous mass that came along with his lymphoma last year has shrunk down to the size of a "marble."

That's pretty incredible ... considering it was 9 inches by 12 inches in size at one point, according to him. He also says he's in remission, which is the best possible result when battling an aggressive cancer.

There's another health twist we hadn't heard about until just now ... apparently, JB was also fighting the coronavirus earlier this year. He says he likely caught it at the facility where he's been getting chemo, but after feeling like crap for a bit ... he kicked it.

Jeff notes he's fully vaccinated, and says he's heard the jab can help long hauler COVID recipients ... which he attributes to his speedy recovery.

Best of all for Jeff, he says he was able to walk his daughter, Hayley, down the aisle at her recent wedding -- something he wasn't sure he could do, because he's been on oxygen. The proud dad said he even danced with her ... without his O2 tank.

A group of gorillas at a Georgia zoo have caught COVID-19 -- and it sounds like a human staffer might've infected them ... including an old-timer silverback who's the most at risk.

Zoo Atlanta reports that at least 13 of their total 20 gorillas are presumptively positive with the SARS-CoV-2 virus -- this after several of them showed symptoms in recent days and got tests run by a local lab ... with more results forthcoming.

The symptoms ranged from runny noses, coughing and changes in appetite ... and samples were collected via nasal swabs, oral swabs and fecal matter. So far, it looks like an outbreak.

The oldest of their gorillas is 60-year-old Ozzie, who's also tested positive. He and the others are being treated with monoclonal antibodies, and will receive the Zoetis vaccine soon -- which is the jab developed for animals, and which several zoos have already administered.

As for how they got sick -- ZA says it believes a care team member that works there -- who proved to be positive after the fact -- might've been responsible for transmitting it ... unwittingly, and not on purpose. They say this worker was fully vaxxed, wearing a ton of PPE and was asymptomatic the day they reported to work when this presumably spread.

Doesn't seem any of the gorillas are deathly ill at this point, but the Zoo is monitoring their condition. They're also letting visitors continue to see them ... as they say it's not possible for animals to give COVID to humans and the built-in viewing distance is safe enough.

One last thing ... Zoo Atlanta says they can't make the gorillas socially distance -- 'cause they kick it in groups (or troops) of 4, and apparently can't be separated.

Steve-O is literally LOL over Bam Margera's lawsuit against 'Jackass' producers, and says the legal battle has nothing to do with why the new movie's release has been delayed.

We got Steve-O at LAX and asked him why "Jackass Forever" is now dropping on February 4, 2022 ... instead of the originally planned date this October. Fans have been speculating it's because of Bam's pending lawsuit against Johnny Knoxville, the 'Jackass' team and Paramount Pictures.

The studio has said it's due to the rising COVID cases, but conspiracy-loving fans online called BS, and kept pushing the Bam theory. Well, Steve-O's doubling down on the company line, and his reaction to Bam's lawsuit might finally convince fans.

He couldn't hold back, and laughed off the case. In fact, he has just one word to describe it. As we reported ... Bam sued, saying he was forced to sign an agreement he claims amounted to psychological torture.

Steve-O had previously said the reason Bam's not in the fourth installment of the 'Jackass' franchise is that he couldn't stay sober. But now ... a lawsuit? Steve-O's baffled, to say the least.

Good news for Toronto Raptors fans -- and Drake -- the team just announced they'll be playing at home in 2021 after using Tampa as their home court for 19 months!!

Last season, the Raptors had to relocate to Tampa and play their home games in Amalie Arena due to Canada's travel restrictions over COVID-19.

The team hasn't played in their Scotiabank Arena since Feb. 28, 2020 -- but just got the green light to play their preseason opener at home which starts on Oct. 4 against the Sixers.

The capacity limit is still up in the air and there is a COVID vaccination mandate.

"We are optimistic regarding our ability to host full capacity events at Scotiabank Arena," the team said.

"And as a reminder, all people wishing to access the arena — whether to attend an event as a spectator, or as a member of the media — will be required to show proof of vaccination for COVID-19 or proof of a medical exemption."

The Raptors season opener is Oct. 20 against the Wizards and it will be in their city of Toronto.

Howard Stern laid it all out on the table ... f*** everyone who refuses to get a COVID vaccine.

Stern went on a rant this week, arguing vaccines should be mandatory. He railed on the holdouts, in particular 4 radio DJs who refused to get the shot and ended up dead. He bristled that one who expressed regret he didn't get the vaccine ... expressed it on his death bed.

Robin chimed in ... she has trouble drumming up compassion for those who refuse to take precautions and help themselves.

As Howard says, schools have required measles, mumps, polio shots, and on and on, so what's the difference?

His parting words "When are we gonna stop putting up with the idiots in this country. F*** em, f*** their freedom. I wanna be free to live."