Drugs & Alcohol

Aaron Carter's getting the help he desperately needs in rehab largely in part to precision, patience and execution from the guys at "The Doctors."

Sources close to the Carter family tell TMZ ... "The Doctors" sent an interventionist to Aaron's Florida crib last week. The person showed up Thursday, knocked on Aaron's door, to no avail. The interventionist wasn't deterred and waited a whopping 4 hours.

The interventionist returned Friday, and the troubled singer finally agreed to talk and ultimately was convinced to go to rehab. We're told the show is footing the bill. It's unclear what it'll cost, but Aaron's supposed to be in rehab in California for 3 months, which can't be cheap.

As we reported ... 'Doctors' offered to send Aaron to rehab when he was on the show, but he refused. A rep for Aaron tells us ... "Aaron’s decision to enter a facility was his own and a choice he made for himself. He very much wishes to be left alone so he can focus on his wellness."

BTW, our sources say Aaron's meeting with the interventionist wasn't filmed for the show.

AJ McLean thinks he's the guy who can take Aaron Carter under his wing and help him get back on the road to recovery ... because he had to do it himself 3 times.

We got the Backstreet Boys singer out at The Commons at Calabasas Friday ... he tells us he's reaching out to Aaron right away because he's worried and hopes to talk some sense into him.

AJ says Aaron's like a little brother and he knows exactly what he's going through ... and he's going to try his best to save him. As for Aaron's real brother, Nick ... AJ suggests he's frustrated with the whole situation because once again -- he knows from experience.

As we've reported ... family members have been worried about Aaron for weeks now, and cops rushed to his house Thursday after getting a call he was under the influence of something.

Aaron Carter's plan to buy a gun got thwarted by a computer.

As we reported ... a 911 caller told cops Aaron tried to buy a gun but got turned down. We spoke to the manager at the Florida gun shop, who says the singer was automatically denied after his background check got flagged. It's unclear what triggered the alarm.

The staff also noticed Aaron's odd behavior -- he was jumpy, bragging about himself and hitting on girls at the shop. The manager said he appeared unhinged.

Aaron Carter is finally giving in and checking into rehab, TMZ has learned, the day after police rushed to his home to do a welfare check.

TMZ broke the story ... cops in Florida responded when someone reported Aaron seemed high on something during a FaceTime conversation. Aaron's rep tells us, "Aaron has decided to enter a facility to improve his health and work on his overall wellness. He is going to do this privately and focus all his attention on being the best person and performer possible," adding Aaron's grateful for the support and love from his fans.

We're told Aaron went back and forth for a while, but finally agreed to get help.

As we reported, Aaron taped an episode of 'Doctors' last month, but fled the studio at the first mention of him going into rehab. Family members have also been concerned he's relapsing.

As of now he's agreeing to check into a program, but as one source put it ... his decision "changes every hour."

3:37 PM PT -- Cops are on the scene, and according to a neighbor it appears Aaron is fine. He was seen answering the door for the responding officers.

No word on whether he was under the influence, as the concerned caller claimed.

Cops are rushing to Aaron Carter's home after getting a report he appeared to be under the influence of something ... TMZ has learned.

According to law enforcement, cops just got a call from someone who had been on a call with Aaron when they felt something just wasn't right. Sources connected to Aaron tell us one of his neighbors went to check on him, but no one responded when they knocked.

Police are en route right now.

As we've reported ... family members have been worried for a few weeks now that Aaron was relapsing and possibly suicidal. Last week in NYC, Aaron told us ... there's no reason for concern.

Story developing ...

Jessica Simpson let loose at her hubby's birthday dinner, and needed some help keeping it together on the way out of the event.

Jessica was leaving Craig's Tuesday night in WeHo arm in arm with Eric Johnson, who turned 38 a few days ago. We're told the pair was inside the joint for a whopping 5 hours ... which is written all over Jessica's face.

The singer damn near ate it when she almost fell off the sidewalk. Luckily, her hubby and a pap were there to avert disaster. We asked Jess what's her secret to a perfect butt pic ... 'cause she would know.

DMX just might pull a Gucci Mane because X's lawyer tells us the rapper's cleaned up so much in rehab, he's "back to being human again."

We spoke with Murray Richman who told us X has already packed on 40 lbs. Murray says he had been nothing but skin and bones before starting treatment in late August at a New England facility.

The program is almost complete, but Murray wants X to stay another 30 days since he's been responding so well ... they're letting him take day trips with a friend to a nearby town.

Cleveland Browns legend Joe Thomas threw a Fitz after his 10,000th NFL snap -- and it was delicious.

The 32-year-old tackle threw a 1-man whiskey celebration after his record-breaking game on Sunday -- with a glass of Old Fitzgerald Prime.

But it doesn't appear to be any old bottle -- it seems to be a more collectible (and really valuable) version of the brown stuff (we're still waiting for our liquor experts to wake up).

Thomas hasn't missed a single play since getting drafted back in 2007 ... and has played for 22 different quarterbacks during that time.

Soccer superstar Wayne Rooney has apologized for driving drunk during a Sept. 1 incident -- after officials say he was more than THREE TIMES the legal limit.

As we previously reported, the English soccer legend was pulled over in Cheshire, England in the early morning on Sept. 1 while driving a VW Beetle with a female passenger.

The 31-year-old Everton striker appeared in court Monday morning and pled guilty to drunk driving, according to the BBC.

The judge told Rooney, "You placed yourself and other road users at risk as a result of your poor judgement that night."

"I accept your remorse is genuine and that you are aware of the adverse affects the events of that night have had, not least on your family."

Rooney was sentenced to a 2-year driving ban and has 12 months to complete 100 hours of community service.

After the hearing, Rooney issued a statement saying, "I want publicly to apologise for my unforgiveable lack of judgement in driving while over the legal limit. It was completely wrong."

"I have already said sorry to my family, my manager and chairman and everyone at Everton FC."

"Now I want to apologise to all the fans and everyone else who has followed and supported me throughout my career."

A location scout for Netflix's hit show "Narcos" was shot and killed this week while working in Mexico ... this as the upcoming season shifts its focus to Mexican drug cartels.

Carlos Muñoz Portal was found shot to death Monday in central Mexico during location scouting for season 4 of "Narcos." He was reportedly found riddled with bullets in his car in a remote area near Hidalgo, which is known to have one of the highest murder rates in Mexico.

Netflix issued a statement saying ... "We are aware of the passing of Carlos Muñoz Portal, a well-respected location scout, and send our condolences to his family." Police are currently investigating the circumstances of Portal's death.

The new season of Narcos is expected to focus on the origins of the Juarez cartel in Mexico, and filming was supposed to go down there as opposed to Colombia where past seasons were shot.

Unclear if Portal's death will derail production.

Darryl Strawberry says there's only one thing that saved him from the despair of drug addiction ... God ... telling TMZ Sports it was the man upstairs who was finally able to pull him from his habit.

We got Straw out in NYC and asked him what finally helped him kick the notorious cocaine addiction that derailed his MLB career, and the World Series champion's answer was simple.

"My faith, my faith in God, and my wife, Tracy."

Straw chronicles his struggles kicking the white stuff in his new book "Don’t Give Up on Me: Shedding Light on Addiction," but it's clear the former All-Star has his head on straight now.

UFC superstar Mark Hunt says he's "fine" with fighting until he dies ... but he's calling for it happen in a sport free of steroid users.

"I will probably end my life fighting," Hunt wrote in a piece for The Players Voice. "If I die fighting, that’s fine. I just hope that if it does happen, it will be in an honest and fair competition."

The timing of Hunt's article probably ain't a coincidence ... released just after results from Jon Jones' B sample drug test -- confirming the presence of anabolic steroid Turinabol -- were made public.

Mark's fought several fighters who've gotten popped for PED use -- most notably, Brock Lesnar at UFC 200. The Super Samoan called Brock's win "pre-meditated assault" ... and wants to make sure that doesn't happen to him, or anyone else, in the future.

"I’ve fought a lot of drug cheats and copped a lot of punishment from guys who were cheating and that’s not right. The cheats get all the advantages."

Hunt says he accepts the damage he's taken throughout his career -- which he claims has led to slurred speech and lost memories -- but he's PISSED that cheaters may have prevented him from becoming a UFC champ.

9:07 AM PT -- A rep for Aaron tells TMZ ... he didn't storm off the set of "The Doctors" after having rehab recommended, but rather left "quietly and professionally" after hanging out for at least half an hour when taping finished.

Aaron Carter is willing to talk about his prescription drug abuse, but bolted as soon as the topic of rehab came up on "The Doctors" ... according to family members.

Aaron agreed to a drug test when he taped the show about a month ago -- it airs this week -- and results came back positive for benzodiazepine (Xanax-like drugs) and hydrocodone (generic Vicodin). He claimed the doctors were helping him more than any therapist had, but a Carter family source tells us Aaron drew a line at the suggestion that he gets treatment.

We're told the doctors made the rehab recommendation after the show was done taping -- and they even said the show would pay for it, but Aaron got defiant and insisted he would NOT go.

Our sources say he stormed out of the studio, hopped in his car, and drove from L.A. to Florida the next day.

Daniel Cormier has been reinstated as the UFC's Light Heavyweight Champion after his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 214 was officially changed to a "no contest" in the wake of JJ's positive steroid test.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Jones was flagged for Turinabol -- a banned anabolic steroid. The results from Jones' B sample were made public Tuesday -- confirming the bad news for Jones. As a result, the California State Athletic Commission overturned Jones' victory and now has it ruled as a "no contest."

Cormier appeared on "UFC Tonight" and said he's already been contacted by Dana White ... who informed him that the belt will be returned to him.

"Once again, I'm the UFC champion," Cormier proclaimed.

Sacramento Kings star Zach Randolph just struck a pretty sweet deal in his marijuana case ... and all he has to do is a TON of community service.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Z-Bo was arrested for felony weed possession with intent to sell back in August when cops say they busted him with more than 2 pounds of pot in Nickerson Gardens.

The charges were later reduced to misdemeanor possession of more than 1 ounce of marijuana and resisting arrest ... and Randolph was facing up to 1 year in jail if convicted on both accounts.

But now, we've learned Randolph struck a deal with prosecutors to plead no contest to misdemeanor resisting arrest ... and in exchange, the pot charge was tossed completely.

Randolph was sentenced to 150 hours of community service as part of a diversion program, which means if he completes the hours and keeps his nose clean for 12 months, the resisting arrest conviction will be wiped from his record.

One more thing ... Randolph was specifically told he may not associate himself with or be around drug dealers as part of the terms of the deal.

The case is due back in court for a progress report in December. Good luck!

Jon Jones can deny it all he wants ... but he cheated before BOTH his fights with Daniel Cormier, which makes DC the true champ -- so says UFC superstar Luke Rockhold.

The "B" sample for Jones' failed drug test came out on Tuesday ... which revealed a positive test for the same banned steroid he got popped for last month. Now, Luke says it's time we all faced the truth.

"People can be in denial about Jon ... but he's taken things all along the way. And that's what USADA's here for -- to clean up the cheaters."

Rockhold feels terrible for his BFF, Cormier, and Jones too -- calling the whole situation "unfortunate" -- but told TMZ Sports he's not dwelling on it cause he's got a huge comeback fight this weekend.