Looksmaxxer Connor Murphy was injecting liquid gold into his body before his death, which may have led to some sort of psychosis ... at least according to his longtime friend.
Connor's former roommate and close friend Tony Huge tellz TMZ ... while he saw some benefits to Connor injecting liquid gold into his blood stream, he warned him about the practice.
Tony tells us Connor used gold to enhance the color of his skin and to create "superhuman" traits ... and he did see a huge change in him -- he was bolder, more courageous and had elevated energy.
Still, Tony says he warned Connor he should cool it with the amount of gold he was injecting ... worried about the unknown consequences of having the precious metal -- sometimes bought right from jewelry shops in Thailand -- in his body.
As a friend, Tony says there was only so much he could say.
While the health status of Senator Mitch McConnell remains up in the air ... life goes on at his Washington, D.C. residence ... at least when it comes to flooring.
Our intrepid TMZ DC producer Charlie Cotton paid a visit to the Senator's home Friday to see if he could get any answers on Mitch's health ... and he saw something interesting leaving the house.
No, it wasn't Mitch ... it was a guy with some carpeting samples.
Charlie spoke to the guy off camera ... and it sounds like new tiles are being considered too.
Taylor Frankie Paul questioned her ex, Dakota Mortensen, on whether he was hanging out with other girls following their breakup … in wild text messages he is using in court ... TMZ has learned.
Sources familiar with the case tell TMZ ... Dakota submitted a series of texts from a February 2025 conversation where Taylor asks her ex what his plans were for the night. When she didn't get an immediate response, she followed up with multiple question marks ... and then a third text stating, "HELLO."
Dakota explained he was getting food, but Taylor wasn't buying his answer … and started to grill him about his plans and where he was getting food. She asked Dakota why he was ignoring her question about who he was getting pizza with.
Darrell Sheets' brother says the "Storage Wars" star was "dramatic" ... but never in a million years did he think his sibling would die by suicide.
According to the Lake Havasu City Police incident report, obtained by TMZ, Darrell's older brother told officers the reality star was a "good Christian" -- and that's why he didn't think he'd take his own life.
Andrew Gillum may just catch a break in his crystal meth case ... we're told Alabama prosecutors are considering sending the ex-Florida politician to a pre-trial intervention program.
John Oxford, Assistant District Attorney for Baldwin County, tells us he will be reviewing 30 narcotics cases Friday for possible transfer to drug court, and among them is Gillum's case.
Last week, Gillum was arrested after cops said they saw him driving erratically in Daphne, AL, and pulled him over near a Walmart, only to find him with 3 grams of methamphetamine, 8 pre-rolled marijuana joints, 4 cut straws, 3 pipes, and a bong.
Darrell Sheets' suicide rocked the "Storage Wars" cast and crew ... and one of the show's main auctioneers, Dan Dotson, has a heartbreaking take on Darrell's tragic death.
Dan tells TMZ ... he was friendly with Darrell for the 15 seasons they appeared on the A&E reality series, but the two men were not close pals ... something he now regrets.
Dan tells us ... "Maybe if I'd been a better friend, I could've helped him. Seems he was going through a lot we didn't know about."
Dan and his wife, Laura-- who also serves as a 'Storage Wars' auctioneer -- were devastated to learn Darrell shot himself.
The couple attended Darrell's celebration of life ... and were shocked by how many people from the series -- including 3 showrunners -- reunited for the service.
Attorney Ben Crump says claims Nolan Wells drowned in Mississippi's Gulf Coast are highly suspect ... because Nolan definitely knew how to swim.
The civil rights lawyer who's representing Nolan's family tells TMZ ... Nolan took swimming lessons as a kid, and he'd been to Horn Island before, so he wouldn't have been lost or disoriented.
As you know ... Nolan disappeared during a Fourth of July celebration with friends on Horn Island, and 2 days later, he was found dead in the water off the coast of the island.
You may want to keep your Johnson tucked away ... because Christopher Peden -- the Indiana man cops say sliced off his man part and lit it on fire in a garage -- is out on bail.
According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, Peden was charged with felony arson but then released on $10,000 bond with certain strict conditions ... including not leaving the state of Indiana without permission.
Court docs also say the evidence collected on the scene included the remains of a red plastic gasoline container and four BIC lighters. Investigators say they also recovered a knife. The penis, however, was not mentioned in the officer's affidavit as part of the collected evidence.
Biohacker Bryan Johnson has been looking to defy Father Time by aging as gracefully as a bottle of wine ... except now he's faced with biologically insurmountable odds.
Bryan sat down with TMZ's Charlie Neff ... he discusses his incurable autoimmune disease diagnosis -- which the longevity influencer revealed on social media last week -- but it's safe to say it hasn't wilted his spirit.
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Despite the sheer irony of a man whose whole brand is defying age suddenly coming down with an incurable disease -- Autoimmune Gastritis -- Bryan's reaction to his diagnosis is "it's wonderous."
Mackenzie Shirilla was under review by Ohio prison authorities after a glammed-up picture of the convicted killer in prison recently appeared on Instagram, but she won't face any punishment, TMZ has learned.
Shirilla, who shot to infamy with her Netflix documentary "The Crash," apparently sent the dolled-up photo of herself from Ohio Reformatory for Women to a family member through a tablet called ViaPeth, which is used by inmates to stay connected to loved ones, according to JoEllen Smith, chief spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Smith said the Office of Victim Services and the Office of the Chief Inspector reviewed the matter and determined that Shirilla did not post the pic herself because "Incarcerated individuals do not have access to social media platforms on the ViaPath tablets."
'Real Housewives of Orange County' star Vicki Gunvalson is dragging a financial advisor to court … claiming he defamed her and cost her a ton of money, TMZ has learned.
According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the OG star is suing Gary Vyneman and his financial management company, alleging that he badmouthed her to a mutual client, Diane Field, screwing Vicki out of a ton of money and causing Vicki to be sued for millions more!
Vicki says Gary convinced Diane that Vicki had given her suss financial advice and encouraged Diane to sue the OG Bravolebrity. Vicki claims everything Gary said to Diane was a lie. Vicki denied the claims of wrongdoing.
Marcellus Wiley is on the hook for more than half a mil he owes his bank ... TMZ has learned.
According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the scandalized sports star has to pay up for the $500K loan he never repaid to Preferred Bank ... and then some.
In the filing from Monday, Marcellus has to pay back the full amount of the loan plus interests, attorney fees, late fees and other costs ... coming out to $549,429.82.
Reports swirled that he moved his shindig forward a few days so folks didn't have to choose between that and the Tayvis wedding at Madison Square Garden ... put TMZ exclusively reported that he actually moved it up because he thought the UFC 250 White House event was going to be on Independence Day -- since that was the original plan.
Ariana Grande's viral look-alike Paige Niemann says she felt "misled" by the direct message the popstar sent her amid her rise to online fame years ago.
Here's the sitch -- Paige's new docuseries "Turning the Paige" debuted this week on Prime Video ... and fans are buzzing about the empowering message Ariana sent a teenage Paige as she was gaining traction for the uncanny impersonation and look-alike videos she was posting.
The message, which TMZ verified came from the Grammy winner, said that Paige was beautiful "without trying to make her face look more similar to someone else's." The DM wrapped up, "Always do what makes you happy of course but if I didn't say that to you, I'd regret it."
Now, Paige tells TMZ ... she had mixed feelings about the entire interaction.
She tells us it was an unexpected moment she shared in her doc to show the love and kindness Ariana sent her ... though she felt "led on" due to the social media narratives forming around the same time the DM found its way into her inbox.
The Arizona police officer who responded to Darrell Sheets' home immediately knew who the reality star was when he found him dead ... and officers were shocked when they realized what they stumbled upon.
In Lake Havasu police body cam footage obtained by TMZ ... officers are clearing the house after they found Darrell dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. One officer knew he was a celeb, and his fellow colleague lets out an "Oh!" when he fills them in.
The officer, wearing the body camera, was clearly a fan of the show ... because he explained to his partner that Darrell starred on "Storage Wars" with his son ... and the officer even knew the truck they drove to haul away their storage treasures.
Taylor Frankie Paul's alleged text messages to ex Dakota Mortensen are surfacing as part of the former couple's bitter custody battle ... and they show the reality TV star repeatedly complimenting her own looks, personality and sex appeal.
Sources familiar with the legal proceedings tell TMZ ... Dakota's lawyers submitted a series of Taylor's text messages in court this week to support his claim that her behavior has been erratic as the exes continue fighting over custody of their young son.
According to our sources, Taylor told Dakota in 2025 that she wasn't going to let him bring her down before declaring she was "f***ing charismatic as f***."
