Drugs & Alcohol

The Wendy Williams biopic is going to be crazy as hell ... we've learned the movie will focus on the highs and lows of her rise to fame ... sex, cocaine, date rape and fat shaming.

Lifetime sources tell TMZ ... the biopic spans her life from ages 10 to 55, covering super intimate topics like her coke habit, sex romps, fat shaming from her family and a never-before-told story of date rape at the hands of a chart-topping artist.

Also on the table, according to our sources ... her experiences with racism and sexism in Hollywood, details from her marriage to Kevin Hunter as well as her divorce and her relationship with Mo'Nique.

Wendy and Will Packer will be producing the biopic -- dubbed "Just Wendy"-- while Wendy and Leigh Davenport will write the screenplay.

The talk show host gave us a little info about the movie this week, telling our photog she wants all of the actors to be relatively unknown, so they don't take away from her story.

Our sources say there will be at least 2 different Wendys in the movie ... and she ain't one.

NFL D-lineman Malik McDowell -- the guy who fought police in a gas station convenience store -- has been ordered to wear a brand new piece of jewelry ... an alcohol monitoring bracelet.

The 23-year-old defensive tackle recently missed a routine alcohol test in connection to his DUI case ... and the judge was so upset about it during Wednesday's hearing, he ordered McDowell to be fitted with a SCRAM device.

The SCRAM -- which stands for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring -- is usually strapped to the ankle and continuously tests the skin for traces of alcohol in the body.

A bunch of stars with alcohol-related issues have been fitted with SCRAM devices in the past ... from Lindsay Lohan to Tracy Morgan.

We're trying to find out if McDowell is banned from consuming ANY alcohol -- or if there are exceptions.

As we previously reported, the 6'6", 300 pound lineman was arrested back in February after he got violent with a police officer during a routine traffic stop.

In surveillance footage obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see McDowell get physical with the cop ... even after the officer deploys his taser on the NFL player.

Cops say McDowell "had a strong odor of intoxicants emanating from his persons" -- and later said his BAC was .189, more than twice the legal limit.

McDowell was eventually charged with 2 counts of felony assaulting and resisting, 1 misdemeanor count of operating while intoxicated and misdemeanor driving on a suspended license.

His court date to begin trial -- if the case makes it that far -- is set for late October.

McDowell was a 2nd-round pick for the Seattle Seahawks in the 2017 NFL Draft -- but he was released in 2018 ... and hasn't signed anywhere else.

WWE superstar Jimmy Uso was arrested for driving under the influence near Pensacola, Florida early Thursday morning ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Details surrounding the arrest are unclear but here's what we know so far -- the 33-year-old was booked at 3:04 AM and the charge on the police website says DUI -- driving with an unlawful blood alcohol level.

Unclear what cops say Uso's BAC was at the time of the arrest -- we're working on it.

Cops say Uso -- real name Jonathan Fatu -- is still behind bars. His bond was set at $1,000.

WWE has been in Florida this week -- 'Raw' was in Tampa on Monday, 'Smackdown' was in Miami on Tuesday.

Uso has a history with the law ... back in February, Jimmy was arrested after allegedly getting into a drunken dispute with cops in Detroit. They claim Jimmy "squared up" as if he was going to fight the police. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and obstruction.

In fact, just on Monday, John Cena clowned Uso's mug shot from his February arrest during 'Raw' ... and Uso was smiling about it.

Uso is WWE royalty -- he's the son of WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi and he's married to WWE superstar Naomi. He's also one half of the famous Uso Brothers tag team with his brother, Jey Uso.

The Uso Brothers are 6-time WWE tag team champs.

Titans star O-lineman Taylor Lewan straight-up cried on camera Wednesday ... and it's all because he says he accidentally ingested a banned substance that could lead to an NFL suspension.

Lewan -- Tennesee's 3-time Pro Bowl left tackle -- is facing a 4-game ban after the NFL says he tested positive for ostarine -- a substance that essentially works like anabolic steroids.

Lewan made a video to explain the situation ... and adamantly says that while he did NOT knowingly take the substance -- he is responsible for it getting into his body.

"I want everybody to know that I've never taken this supplement knowingly and I've never cheated the game and I never will."

Lewan says he even took a polygraph test -- which he says he passed (and promised to share later on social media) -- to prove he didn't purposely take the drug.

Taylor then began apologizing to his team, and that's when he got emotional ... breaking down in tears.

"It's just hard," Lewan says ... "I'm sorry to the Tennessee Titans and the fans that I won't be there for 4 games."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports there's still a chance Lewan could avoid suspension pending the results of further tests ... but Taylor was still apologetic, nonetheless.

Demi Lovato could NOT look happier celebrating her 1 year anniversary of sobriety.

The singer and a big group of friends hit up Barton G in WeHo Tuesday night for dinner. As they left, Demi struck a chic pose with her buds to commemorate the occasion, no doubt a pivotal moment for the singer.

It was exactly a year ago Wednesday when Demi -- who struggled with addiction for years -- was rushed to the hospital following her near-fatal overdose. She'd been sober for 6 years before relapsing but has made it priority No. 1 to live a sober life again.

Demi's surrounded herself with a strong support system. In fact ... her team back in January surprised her with a slice of cake to celebrate 6 months of sobriety with a note that read in part, "We are so f**king proud of you!!"

Lamar Odom has zero regrets about his reality TV past -- in fact, he says the experience was the best part of his adult life and he desperately wants to repair his relationship with the Kardashians.

39-year-old Odom appeared on "TMZ Live" and told us how taking up motivational speaking with a company called MicDrop has become therapeutic for him. He's learning to forgive himself for the mistakes he's made in the past ... from drug use to other bad life decisions.

One of those mistakes ... Odom says he feels he's failed as a father. But, Lamar says he's including his children in his motivational speaking work and it's bringing his family closer together.

"This is a great way for me to make up the time I lost with them and help them get better as well," Odom said.

As for reality TV, there are a lot of people who feel doing a reality show is a recipe for disaster -- but Lamar says he wouldn't go back and change a thing.

"Doing reality TV and being married to Khloe, besides having children and besides me doing this motivational speaking that I'm going to start doing, that was the most memorable part and the best part of my adulthood. So, there's nothing I regret about that."

"And, hopefully, me going to public speaking can even bring me closer to the Kardashians and help me rebuild that bridge."

Lamar has previously talked about how he will always love Khloe -- despite the fact the she's moved on -- but it seems now he'll settle for a non-romantic friendship.

Odom also tells us why he feels surviving that infamous 2015 overdose in Nevada was God's plan ... and how he hopes others will learn from his mistakes.

Boxing star Zab Judah has launched his own investigation into his June 7 fight with Cletus Seldin which left Zab hospitalized with a brain bleed ... with Zab calling for drug test results.

Zab -- a 6-time world champion -- suffered numerous injuries including an intercranial hemorrhage in a TKO loss to Seldin which required emergency surgery after the fight.

Judah is doing much better now ... but he's also really pissed off and looking for answers.

In fact, the 41-year-old has hired the Elefterakis, Elefterakis and Panek law firm to investigate "all circumstances involving the fight."

As part of his investigation, Judah is requesting Seldin's pre-fight urine drug screening sample results so he can see for himself if Seldin was truly clean during the fight.

For the record, Seldin has NOT been flagged for a violation as far as we know.

Judah's attorney wants to be clear that he is making "no formal accusations of misconduct" ... but rather doing their due diligence in the "investigatory stage."

In a statement Judah's attorney says, "To date, our firm contacted the Oneida Gaming Commission as well as the promoter of the fight to obtain the results of the pre-fight urine drug screening. No results have been provided to the Judah camp as of yet."

It's getting worse for Dwight Gooden ... the MLB legend was arrested for DUI in New Jersey on Monday night after cops say he was driving the wrong way down a 1-way street.

The 54-year-old former Mets pitcher was pulled over around 11:10 PM in Newark, according to the NY Post ... which reports Gooden was a "mess" during the stop.

Gooden was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital for treatment -- though it's unclear how he's doing now.

The arrest comes just weeks after Doc was busted for cocaine possession in Jersey. As we previously reported, cops say they found two baggies of coke during a traffic stop on June 7.

At the time, Doc's attorney told us the former baseball star was taking the matter seriously.

Gooden was charged with 3rd-degree possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and being under the influence in that case.

Monday's arrest is the latest in a sad string of drug and alcohol related incidents for Gooden ... he tested positive for coke back in 1987, months after he won the World Series with the Mets.

Then, in 1995 ... MLB suspended Gooden for the entire season for failing another drug test.

In 2006, Gooden did an 8-month stint in jail after showing up to a probation hearing high on cocaine.

In 2010, Gooden crashed his car in Jersey while under the influence of drugs -- he was driving his 5-year-old son to school at the time of the crash.

'The Chi' star Sonja Sohn was arrested for cocaine possession ... TMZ has learned.

Sohn, who also starred in "The Wire," was arrested Sunday at 2 AM in North Carolina for cocaine possession, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The paraphernalia charges are misdemeanors, but the cocaine charge is a felony.

Police tell us ... she was arrested and brought into the station at 2 AM and bailed out 6 minutes later.

She posted $1,500 bail and left the station.

She will be arraigned Tuesday.

Sonja played Detective Shakima Greggs on all 5 seasons of "The Wire." She plays Brandon's mom, Laverne, on "The Chi."

Pablo Escobar's bro wants to squash his "flamethrower" beef with Elon Musk ... by proposing they go into business together, but only if Elon can convince Prez Trump to issue a pardon.

Yeah, things just got weird.

The Colombian kingpin's bro, Roberto, fired off a letter to Elon -- or as Roberto calls him, "smart gringo" -- to offer several ways they can put their bad blood behind them. As we first reported ... Roberto claims Elon's The Boring Company committed intellectual property theft when one of its engineers jacked the idea of making a toy flamethrower.

Roberto starts the letter -- obtained by TMZ -- by giving Elon a nickname ... La Mosca (The Fly). Read the letter ... Roberto explains why he gave him the nickname. What's more ... one of Roberto's proposed solutions is to get Elon to speak to Trump and pardon him ... so they can build the company "Escobar Musk Enterprises." No joke.

Roberto's second solution ... roll up their sleeves and start a weed biz!!! Seriously ... Roberto's even got a company name picked. Roberto also offers a third solution ... if ya wanna call it that.

Prosecutors have finally hit Darren McFadden with charges in his wild Whataburger case ... charging the ex-NFL star with 2 misdemeanors that carry jail time if he's convicted.

McFadden was arrested back on January 21 after cops say the 31-year-old was asleep at the wheel of his 2019 GMC Yukon in the drive-thru at a Whataburger in Texas.

Officials say during the incident, McFadden resisted officers ... and it all ended up with the ex-running back's driver's side and passenger windows being smashed in.

Now, TMZ Sports has learned prosecutors have finally hit Darren with charges for the altercation -- charging him with resisting arrest and DUI with a BAC of greater than or equal to .15.

Both counts are defined as Class A misdemeanors in Texas ... which means McFadden is facing up to 2 YEARS behind bars and $8,000 in fines if he's convicted.

McFadden is due in court in October to face the charges.

Darren was a superstar at Arkansas before the Oakland Raiders drafted him with the 4th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Ted Cruz is earmarking the billions upon billions of dollars El Chapo's been ordered to fork over to the U.S. to secure the southern border, and he says President Trump's backing his plan.

Like the Prez, the Texas Senator's all about building the wall, and he tells TMZ the next step now that the Mexican drug lord has been sentenced to life in prison ... should be to use his $12.6 BILLION fortune to make it happen.

Cruz acknowledges El Chapo's drug money might be difficult to track down, but says there should be no debate over where the cash goes once it's seized.

Ted's been serious about this for a couple years now -- he introduced legislation known as the EL CHAPO Act in April 2017, but it died ... so he reintroduced it in January.

He believes it's still a perfectly fitting conclusion to the Mexican kingpin's case. Check out his reasoning ... to Cruz it's basically poetic justice.

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will spend the rest of his life in prison ... unless he manages to escape again.

The Mexican kingpin was just handed a life sentence, plus 30 years, by the judge in a federal courtroom in Brooklyn after being convicted on all 10 counts he was facing back in February.

He's also ordered to forfeit $12.6 BILLION to the government as a result of the dirty money he made from his criminal drug enterprise.

As we reported, El Chapo was found guilty for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to launder narcotics proceeds, international distribution of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and other drugs and use of firearms.

The verdict came after a nearly 3-month trial in which the jury heard around 200 hours of insane testimony about drug trafficking, luxury weapons, money laundering ... and an alleged $100 million bribe to a former Mexican president.

El Chapo reportedly looked stunned by the guilty verdict but managed to give his wife, Emma Coronel, a double thumbs up before he was led out of the courtroom.

Of course, all of this came after the Sinaloa Cartel's leader was captured by the Mexican government in 2014, escaped more than a year later through a mile-long underground tunnel ... only to be caught again in early 2016.

He was extradited to the U.S. in 2017, but before his trial began in November 2018, he filed a bunch of weird motions about his life behind bars -- including TV and prayers complaints -- and made a promise to not be violent with the jurors.

WWE wrestler Jeff Hardy was passed out in a public stairwell and reeked of booze before cops arrested him Saturday ... this according to new police docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... Hardy was busted down in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this weekend for allegedly being drunk in public -- and was eventually released on less than $200 bond.

Now, we've obtained police docs that say Hardy admitted to drinking vodka before cops found him passed out in a stairwell.

Hardy was facing a misdemeanor charge of public intoxication -- but we've now learned Jeff ain't facing more trouble in the case.

Court officials tell us ... because Hardy paid a $153 ticket for public intoxication, his case is considered closed.

Of course, there is a small chance Jeff could fight the ticket in court later this month ... but doesn't seem that'll be likely, considering he's not facing a conviction on his record.

41-year-old Hardy has been 1/2 of the famous Hardy Boyz tag team in the WWE for years. 

NY Jets TE Chris Herndon -- who had a breakout rookie campaign last year -- will be banned 4 games this season after he pled guilty in his DUI crash case, the NFL announced.

Herndon was lucky to be alive after cops say the 22-year-old smashed into another car on a New Jersey highway on June 2, 2018 after he was speeding at more than 100 mph.

TMZ Sports obtained footage from the aftermath of the crash ... and you can see Herndon's 2018 Nissan Armada nearly rolled over wrongside up.

To make matters worse, 23-year-old Herndon bombed field sobriety tests ... and he was arrested for DUI at the scene.

Chris fought the charge in court throughout the Jets' season last year ... but eventually cut a deal with prosecutors and pled guilty in the case.

Herndon was sentenced to complete 12 hours of an intoxicated driver education program. Plus, his driver's license was revoked for 90 days. He was also hit with $639 in fines and fees.

Now, the NFL has weighed in with their punishment, hitting the guy with a 4-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the initial ban was supposed to be 2 games ... but after a woman at the scene claimed the crash caused her bodily harm, the NFL upped it to 4.

Chris Pratt is going country ... hopping onstage to belt out some Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks tunes during a couple of surprise performances in Nashville. 

The 'Guardians of the Galaxy' star hit up a couple honky tonks Thursday night ... grabbing the mic at Tootsies to belt out Garth Brooks' "Papa Loved Mama." Ya can't say Chris held back -- he went all in for the performance, even if he was a little loose with the lyrics.

But, one stop wasn't enough for CP on this night. He also went next door to test his voice onstage at Robert's Western World for a rendition of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues." 

Chris belted out the country music classic alongside musician Sarah Gayle Meech ... and as you can see, they rocked the house with a full band behind them!

Folks who were there say Chris totally made their night ... and Katherine Schwarzenegger's gotta be pretty proud of her husband's pipes. Or, at least his energy.

Johnny was famous for always wearing black ... but Chris went a different route and kept it low key with a denim button down and a white hat. Johnny would approve of the actor's black pants, though.