Family

Eli Apple's brother says it's the NY Giants cornerback's MOTHER who's the real cancer in his life -- and he's begging his bro to cut her out before she kills his career.

TMZ Sports spoke with Dane Blackson -- Eli's half-brother (they have the same mom) -- and he's very passionate that Annie Apple is "pulling the strings" in a very damaging way.

"I feel like when people say Eli's like a cancer ... I just think of mom when people say like words and use these types of adjectives."

"I feel like he never had a fair shot. I mean, a lot of this sh*t that you could be judging him on, there's really a master behind him pulling the strings. So, as far as Eli being the cancer, I don't really see Eli being the cancer more than I see mom being the cancer and him not being able to distance himself."

Annie Apple has had a major presence in Eli's life ever since he broke out as a star college player at Ohio State. She became a fan favorite for her outspoken opinions and fun personality at the NFL Draft and later got a job with ESPN.

But, Dane says she's gotta back off in a big way ... telling TMZ Sports no one in Eli's inner-circle likes their mother -- but they're all too scared to speak up.

The Kardashians have come out swinging in Blac Chyna's lawsuit against them in which she claims the fam sabotaged her reality show with Rob, saying it was all her doing.

As we reported, Chyna is suing Rob, Kim and Kris claiming they orchestrated a plot to torpedo "Rob & Chyna" after the couple broke up, and that's why E! canceled the show.

The Kardashians have just filed legal docs, courtesy of their attorney Shawn Holley, asking the judge to toss Chyna's case, claiming the real reason the show was canceled is that Chyna went to court and got a domestic violence restraining order against Rob, making it impossible to shoot a show with interactions between the 2.

It's important to note ... Chyna got a settlement in which she now gets $20k a month in child support and in return dropped the domestic violence allegations.

The Kardashians are also calling BS on Chyna's defamation claim, saying their allegations were true, including that she left Dream at home while she went out to party.

1:22 PM PT -- Looks like Billie did miss the Christmas family reunion after all. She appears to have been checking out the northern lights in Norway on Christmas night, but with her mom in mind.

Carrie Fisher's family was under one roof this Christmas ... a year after the deaths of Carrie and her mother, Debbie Reynolds -- and they did it out of tradition.

Todd Fisher -- Carrie's brother -- tells us the entire family was together over the holiday, and that it was very emotional. We're told Debbie's brother, Bill Reynolds, was there -- he had spent every Christmas with Carrie.

Todd says Debbie had a long-running tradition of bringing everyone together for Christmas, and that she had even ordered Carrie back for the get-together last year ... it was on that trip home from the UK when she went into cardiac arrest and died days later.

We're told the Fisher/Reynolds family honored Debbie's custom by having dinner, watching home movies, and saying a prayer that Debbie's father would always say at Xmas -- which Todd says would start ... "Dear Lord, help us jump in."

Todd adds that nearly all of Carrie and Debbie's celebrity friends have reached out to the family to offer their condolences around this difficult time. As we reported ... Debbie died one day after her daughter, Carrie, passed away last year.

One last thing ... we're told everyone in the Fisher/Reynolds family was there, which leads us to believe Carrie's daughter, Billie Lourd, was also in attendance.

11:11 AM PT -- Nick has filed legal docs asking the judge to penalize Heather's mother and aunt for allegedly conspiring with Heather to steal his child. He wants more than $10,000 in penalties and wants that amount to grow for each day she wrongfully keeps Barbie away from him.

Nick Cassavetes went on the attack against his baby mama because of a custody agreement she signed and then violated ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported, Nick told authorities in Oklahoma Heather Wahlquist was hiding their 13-year-old daughter, Barbie, somewhere in Norman, Oklahoma, despite the fact that their agreement gave him custody during the Xmas holiday.

According to the custody agreement, obtained by TMZ, Heather and Barbie were supposed to return to L.A. by December 18 and he would have custody through January 8. Nick claims Heather has been on the lam with their child, flagrantly violating the agreement.

Heather claims she signed the custody agreement under duress, claiming he was holding their daughter hostage until she put pen to paper and signed.

Heather claims the director of "The Notebook" did not properly care for Barbie, citing an incident a few months back when he returned Barbie to Heather and she had a severe bacterial infection that left her eyes blood red and oozing. She attributes the illness to Nick's "unkempt party house."

She has a laundry list of complaints against Nick, from substance abuse allegations to gambling. She also bizarrely claims Nick had a tattoo of him having sex with her mom doggie style which mortified their daughter.

Nick and Heather are due in court next week ... he's asking a judge to lay down the law and force Heather to comply with their agreement.

Nick Cassavetes is the embodiment of evil who has waged a campaign of revenge against his ex-wife for leaving him ... this according to the ex-wife's mother.

Linda Massad tells TMZ the famed director has scared her family so much they have gone into hiding. She tearfully described the scene at her house where strange people have been showing up ... she's worried someone has put out a hit, but she offered no evidence to support the claim.

Linda does say "The Notebook" director strong-armed her daughter, Heather Wahlquist, into giving Nick certain custody rights over 13-year-old daughter Barbie, and says she's worried sick he's going to take their child and run.

Rihanna's cousin was shot and killed this week ... just a day after she'd seen him for Christmas in her native home of Barbados.

RiRi posted a tribute Tuesday to her late relative, Tavon Alleyne, saying, "RIP cousin... can't believe it was just last night that I held you in my arms! never thought that would be the last time I felt the warmth in your body!!! Love you always man! #endgunviolence."

Tavon -- who was just 21 years old -- was shot several times by an unidentified man as he was walking near his home in the St. Michael area of the island.

Cops are on the lookout for the shooter, and have asked the public for any info or leads that could lead to his capture.

1:44 PM PT -- Lewis has apologized for his comment, saying he meant no harm and did not mean to offend anyone. He says he realizes it's wrong to marginalize or stereotype anyone, and asks for forgiveness in his lapse of judgment.

Lewis Hamilton is in some serious hot water after posting a video in which he seems to shame a grade school-aged male family member for wearing a princess dress.

The video -- which has since been deleted from his social media -- shows Hamilton admonishing the kid, asking him if he asked for the dress for Christmas, then finally shouting at him.

"BOYS DON'T WEAR PRINCESS DRESSES."

The kid seems gleeful about his outfit, but Lewis is visibly disappointed and tells the camera (and his millions of social media followers) all about it.

Since posting the vid, Hamilton has been getting absolutely DESTROYED on Twitter (where the clip is still being circulated) with people accusing him of bullying and humiliating his nephew in front of the world.

Tallulah Willis has a holiday message for anyone who used to call her ugly as a kid ... drink it all in for Xmas.

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's youngest daughter posted a bikini hot shot on Christmas Eve alongside her 2 sisters, Rumer and Scout -- who were also bikini-clad -- as they all took a dip in what looks like a river surrounded by snow.

Tallulah captioned the photo ... "dedicated to everyone who called me ugly at 13."

The youngest Willis kid has made it known she used to be bullied about her looks growing up. She told Katie Couric in 2014 ... "I had people when I was 13 telling me how ugly I was, and how could two beautiful actors create such hideous troll children?"

William Graham -- one of the heirs to the Washington Post-Graham fortune and son to WP publishers Phil and Katharine Graham -- has died by suicide, like his father.

The Post published Will's obit Saturday, saying the 69-year-old lawyer died last Wednesday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to his older brother, Donald. His sister, Lally Weymouth, also posted about his death.

His father, Phil, also committed suicide in 1963 by shooting himself with a shotgun. Will's mother, Katharine, served as primary publisher of the Post for more than 2 decades thereafter.

She played a crucial role in the Post helping bring down President Nixon during the Watergate scandal. She also led the charge in continuing to publish the Pentagon Papers despite being challenged by the U.S. government in court.

Meryl Streep plays Katharine in Steven Spielberg's new movie "The Post." What's even more eerie here ... Will killed himself 6 days after the premiere in D.C., and 2 days before the film's limited release.

Lonzo Ball just won Christmas ... going full Big Baller style, copping a $350k Rolls-Royce for his dad, LaVar, and his mom, Tina ... and their first ride was caught on video.

Ball unveiled the new ride on his social media with the hashtag "It's the least I could do" ... though something tells us he knows he's doing the most.

Of course, the Balls aren't strangers to fancy cars -- all the boys push Lamborghinis -- but we're guessing Lonzo felt it was time his dad got in on the act as well.

We had our office car experts check the ride out, and it looks to be a Rolls-Royce Dawn, which retails around $350K ... good use of Lonzo's $6 million salary from the Lakers this year.

George Michael's family posted a message about the late singer one year after his death, and they want fans to remember him with "I Love You's" aimed at loved ones.

In a touching tribute message Sunday, George's sisters, Yioda and Melanie, his father, Jack, and his best pal, David, penned a letter on George's website ... explaining how hard it still is dealing with his death one year to the day.

As we reported ... George died last Christmas when his heart failed as he slept, and he officially died of natural causes. He was 53 years old.

George's family makes a specific request to his many fans ... raise a glass, enjoy his tunes, and appreciate family and friends. More specifically, they want people to say "I Love You" to whoever needs to hear it before it's too late.

They end the open letter with something George would often say ... Take Care.

'Notebook' director Nick Cassavetes is on the hunt for his 13-year-old daughter, whom he says has disappeared ... and he says it's all a diabolical plot by his estranged wife.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... Cassavetes filed a police report. He claims Heather Wahlquist has been on the run with Barbie for the last month. He says he has ferociously tried to gain contact with Barbie to no avail ... her phone has been shut off and Heather refuses to take his calls.

Cassavetes has filed a crime report claiming Heather is violating their custody arrangement and has effectively stolen Barbie from him.

Cassavetes tells TMZ, "My 13 year old daughter Barbarella Cassavetes has gone missing, her mother repeatedly ignoring and disobeying court orders and stipulations. Heather Wahlquist is on the run, refusing to let me see Barbie, ignoring mandatory court appearances, and evading law enforcement."

Teresa Giudice and her kids got a sad lesson about the crappy kind of red tape this holiday season ... the kind that'll keep them away from Joe Giudice for Christmas.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... the snag came last month when Joe was transferred from a federal prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey to another facility in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. Teresa had to submit new visitor forms for her and the kids.

Problem is ... the process that goes into approving the paperwork moves at a snail's pace and won't be ready until after Christmas.

Plan B for Teresa, her dad and the kids is a trip to Mexico. If all goes as planned, they'll celebrate Christmas with Joe in the New Year.

Patrick Schwarzenegger's political pedigree is nearly unmatched -- his dad was "The Governator" and his mom's part of the Kennedys -- so it makes sense he'll run for office some day ... and he can't deny it.

We got the actor and elder son of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and JFK niece Maria Shriver out in Bev Hills Friday, and after some sparse small talk about holiday gifts, we asked him if politics are in his future.

Patrick tells us he's game if he feels he can better the country, so the door's open ... wide open.

He left us hanging on what his Pops gets him for Christmas, though.

You ready to be impressed?!!?! Because THIS is what it takes to be a champion.

Here's a video of Chad Johnson's 12-year-old daughter, Cha'iel, nuking a workout that's gonna seriously make you think twice about having that extra piece of holiday pie.

Cha'iel is a track star (the best runner in the nation in her age group) -- and it's easy to see why after watching this video of her training like she's a FREAKIN' NAVY SEAL!

Burpees, squat jumps, push-up jumps, forward jumps -- she kills them all while her coach yells "girl power" to spur her on.

Kids, you wanna be a record-setting track phenom? Here's the blueprint ... enjoy.

Devon Still -- one of the most beloved athletes in pro sports -- is officially retiring from football ... telling TMZ Sports he's ready to move on to the next phase of his life.

"I never wanted to be somebody who gives up on their dreams, but I don't want to be somebody who chases their dream too long and misses other opportunities."

The defensive end entered the national spotlight in 2014 when he put his NFL career on hold to focus on helping his daughter, Leah, battle Stage 4 cancer.

Devon and Leah inspired millions of people through appearances on TV shows, like 'Ellen' -- and the two raised a fortune for cancer research. They were awarded ESPN's Jimmy V Perseverance Award in 2015.

Still -- who was selected in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft -- later signed contracts with the Houston Texans and the NY Jets ... but was waived in August 2017.

Now -- after much thought and prayer, Still says he's made his decision to hang up his cleats. It sounds like he'll focus on growing his Still Strong Foundation (which provides aid to families with kids fighting cancer) and doing speaking engagements around the globe.