Family

The family of Willie Spence, the "American Idol" runner-up who died in a Tennessee car accident, doesn't think alcohol played a role -- instead, their alternate theory centers around his weekend activity.

Family sources tell TMZ ... Willie was leaving Tennessee State University's homecoming weekend when the crash happened, and while some have speculated he was driving drunk, his family says the late singer wasn't a drinker, so that doesn't track.

The accident took place during the day, not late at night ... another reason why they think he wasn't fresh out of leaving some big party.

However, we're told it was a long weekend for Willie -- one that might've left him severely fatigued, and the family's fear is he fell asleep at the wheel.

Police have yet to determine an official cause for the accident or his death.

Willie's family tells us he was on his way back to Atlanta to meet with an organization that helps abused and trafficked women ... a partnership he excitedly told his mother about the day before the fatal accident.

50 Cent's son Marquise Jackson is ready and willing to mend their relationship -- yes, even if it means paying -- but he's clarifying ... it's not dear old Dad's money he wants.

Marquise tells TMZ Hip Hop he meant what he said, in a now-viral post, about putting up $6,700 -- Fiddy's monthly child support payment -- for the one-on-one, and says he'll actually pay more than that if necessary.

He says that's where the money talk ends, though. Now in his 20s, Marquise says he's matured and feels he and 50 should be able to agree or disagree about issues without going at each other's throats.

Marquise believes the biggest hurdle between them is the fact 50 Cent thinks his eldest son has grown up entitled ... after receiving $80k/year in child support.

Marquise says he doesn't know what to expect if and when they do have a sit-down, but hopes it would lead to better understanding for both of them -- as he told us ... not having his father in his life has left him with many unanswered questions.

To say he's got an uphill battle on his hands would be an understatement. So far, 50 Cent's only response has been to post the "Power" scene where his character kills his son.

German track star Luz Long battled Black American star Jesse Owens during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin -- while Hitler watched -- but instead of treating each other like enemies, the men became close friends.

And, now, Luz's famed silver medal from the long jump is on the block at SCP Auctions ... one of the most important medals in Olympic history.

Owens won four gold medals during the '36 Games ... and became a global superstar almost overnight. But, one of the medals almost never was ... 'cause Jesse was one missed jump away from failing to qualify for the medal round of the long jump.

That's when Carl Ludwig "Luz" Long -- born across the world and in very different circumstances than Jesse -- approached his competitor and offered him some advice.

“Why don’t you draw a line a few inches in back of the board and aim at making your take-off from there," Luz said to Jesse, saying, "You’ll be sure not to foul, and you certainly ought to jump far enough to qualify. What does it matter if you’re not first in the trials?”

Owens later talked about what those words meant for him, and did for his performance.

“Suddenly all the tension seemed to ebb out of my body as the truth of what he said hit me. Confidently, I drew a line a full foot in back of the board and proceeded to jump from there. I qualified with almost a foot to spare.”

In the finals, Long and Owens battled, both breaking the previous Olympic record in the process. In the end, Jesse, with a jump of 8.06 meters, beat Luz, and won the gold medal ... while LL took silver.

Luz, could've been mad, jealous, or even seen Jesse as the enemy, but instead was actually the first to embrace the man who just dashed his dreams of Olympic gold.

"You forced me to give my best,” Owens told Luz.

After receiving their medals, in one of the most courageous moments in Olympic history, Jesse and Luz walked side by side around the stadium, waving to the 110,000 spectators in attendance.

And remember, one of those people was Adolf Hitler ... who was annoyed a Black man dominated the Games, exposing his lies about race.

“It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler,” Owens later said.

“You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment.”

Berlin, 1936, is the last time Jesse and Luz would see each other. The German track star was killed in 1943 during World War II at the age of 30.

However, shortly before his death, Long wrote a handwritten note to his friend Jesse, where he sadly predicted his impending death, and asked a favor.

"My heart tells me, if I be honest with you, that this is the last letter I shall ever write. If it is so, I ask you something. It is a something so very important to me. It is you go to Germany when this war done, someday find my [son], and tell him about his father. Tell him, Jesse, what times were like when we not separated by war. I am saying -- tell him how things can be between men on this earth.⁣"

In 1951, years after the letter, Owens fulfilled his promise and met Luz's son. Jesse would later serve as his best man at his wedding.

Now, nearly 90 years after he won the medal, Luz's granddaughter, Julia Kellner-Long, the daughter of the son Jesse befriended, has decided to put the medal on the block as a way to keep her grandpa's memory alive.

The auction for the medal -- estimated to be worth between $500K and $1 million -- ends this weekend

Alex Jones has been NAILED for perpetuating a lie about the Sandy Hook massacre, and some of the families of the children who were murdered have just gotten word from the jury ... that Jones must ante up nearly $1 billion.

The Connecticut jury just hit Jones between the eyes ... finding the emotional distress and trauma he caused by his campaign was so enormous ... justice required an enormous damage award.

The total verdict -- divided among the 8 families and 1 first responder -- adds up to $965M.

The families' lawyer, Chris Mattei, told jurors in last week's closing arguments that Jones lies to generate revenue for his site, while the parents in mourning received death threats and harassment from his fans.

Jones was on the air on his radio show when the verdict was read ... telling his listeners, "This must be what hell is like -- they just read out the damages, even though you don't got the money." Jones also said the case was a joke and asked his listeners for donations.

The legal battle started way back in 2018, when the families went after Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

50 Cent's rocky relationship with his son Marquise Jackson is getting a lot of attention -- especially Marquise's attempt to buy Dad's love -- but buzzing rapper Symba says money shouldn't be the focus in this situation.

We caught the red-hot rookie walking into DASH Radio in Hollywood, and he doesn't agree with the notion a father, like 50, should automatically have to write massive child support checks simply because he's filthy rich.

Remember, Marquise went viral for claiming the $6,700 Fiddy paid monthly wasn't enough when he was growing up -- but Symba's question is how much would be enough? He says parents should pay based on the child's needs, not based on the parent's bank account.

We also spoke to Symba about the growing trend of male rappers spilling their biz on wax -- something we've seen Quavo, DaBaby and Tory Lanez all do in lyrics lately. Symba, who's on tour right now with Joyner Lucas, says he doesn't plan on adopting that approach ... but he gets why some artists do.

He equates it to female rappers who've been spilling tea for years, and get this ... he says the ladies are currently out-rapping the fellas!

Singer Brandy is recovering in an L.A. hospital after possibly suffering a seizure ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they got an EMS call to Brandy's home at noon Tuesday. Sources with direct knowledge tell us it's believed Brandy suffered a seizure, and she was taken to a local hospital.

At this time, we're told Brandy is still in the hospital -- her parents have been there with her -- and it appears she will recover.

We don't know what led up to the seizure or if there were other health issues as a result of the incident.

It was earlier this year when Brandy blew the crowd away at the NFL's NFC Championship game with her rendition of the National Anthem.

We've reached out to a rep for Brandy ... so far, no word back.

Former NBA star Ben Gordon allegedly punched his son in the face multiple times at an NYC airport after the 10-year-old boy dropped a book, a witness told police.

As we previously reported ... the 39-year-old former 3rd overall draft pick (2004) was taken into custody Monday night around 9 PM, and now we've learned more about the retired hoopers' alleged actions.

A witness -- an American Airlines employee -- told Port Authority PD they watched Gordon strike his minor son in the "face multiple times."

Police responded to the area ... and when they arrived, Gordon told them the boy was his son. The child was taken to a local hospital where he was examined. It's unclear if he sustained any injuries.

Cops say they attempted to put the 6'3" former professional athlete in handcuffs, but he refused, flailing his arms and twisting his body in an attempt to not be handcuffed. Gordon allegedly said, "I am not going with you guys."

In the struggle, two cops say they were hurt ... one sustained a knee injury, and the other an injury to their arm and wrist. Both officers were treated at the hospital.

To make matters worse for Gordon, he wasn't even supposed to be with his son in a different state ... 'cause there was a restraining order put in place by an Illinois judge in May 2018.

According to police, Ben was prohibited from "committing physical abuse" against his son, as well as from taking him out of the state.

The alleged incident happened in Queens, New York.

Gordon was hit with 9 charges.

- Assault in 2nd degree (2 counts)
- Criminal contempt
- Assault in 3rd degree
- Resisting Arrest
- Criminal Contempt in 2nd degree
- Endangering the welfare of a child
- Attempted assault in 3rd degree

It's not the first time the former NBA player, who also won an NCAA championship with Jim Calhoun at UCONN in 2004, has been in trouble with the law ... but Ben had seemingly kept his nose clean the last few years until the alleged airport incident with his son.

Gordon was arraigned Tuesday night in the Queens County Criminal Court ... he's due back in a New York City courtroom later this month.

"Days of Our Lives" actor James Lastovic and his roommate have gone missing in Hawaii, according to his mother, who's pleading for help.

James' mom, Lucienne, says her son and Nevin Dizdari were vacationing at a resort in Kauai. On Sunday they told someone on the staff at the Hanalei Bay Resort they were headed for Kokee State Park where they were going to take a long trail hike. They also asked for directions to Shipwreck Beach ... specifically around the cliff diving area.

According to Lucienne, they never returned to the resort Sunday night and haven't been seen since. They left all their belongings in the room, which are now in the possession of the police.

They were driving a black Nissan, which also hasn't reappeared. Lucienne says there's a tracking device on the car, but no word from cops if they've been able to locate it.

We spoke with Lucienne, who's flying from San Diego to Kauai to help search for her son and his roommate. She believes they're in Kokee State Park.

Fans of the soap remember James playing Joey Johnson -- a recurring character that was on the show for 5 years, starting back in 2015.

His mom is asking for anyone with info to come forward and help.

Draymond Green's mom is justifying her son's actions at Warriors practice last week ... saying he only hit Jordan Poole because he was shoved in the first place.

Mary Babers-Green went to social media to give her two cents on the wild incident ... and essentially put the blame on how Poole handled their interaction, claiming Draymond was not trying to pick a fight.

"That wasn't a Sucker punch," Babers-Green said on Monday. "Dray didn't aggressively go to Poole. His hands were down. Man to Man you go over to talk (to ask what's up, what you say)!"

"Got shoved and reacted," she added. "End of story!"

Mary also believes the incident has been blown out of proportion ... and says the two "can get beyond this."

"Anything is fixable! Everything ain't always what you think you see!"

As we previously reported, Green is taking a few days away from the team after TMZ Sports posted video of the practice punch ... and he has since apologized to the team, Poole and Poole's family.

The punch has been a major topic in the sports world ever since it was released -- but folks appear to be divided on whether or not it was a big deal.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith recently told us violent altercations happen all the time on NBA teams ... calling it nothing but a "scuffle."

The longtime Wendy's employee with Down Syndrome -- who was recently fired -- is now getting a happy ending, complete with a huge party and a major key.

Here's the deal ... Dennis Peek was unceremoniously canned a few days back after working at a Wendy's in Stanley, North Carolina for 20 years. The news was particularly devastating for Dennis' family -- his sister and guardian, Cona Young Turner -- tells TMZ ... Dennis doesn't know he was terminated, and instead thinks he's retiring.

The family is being super sensitive about the situation, but we've learned the city of Stanley is kicking in to give him a proper retirement send-off. Cona says during the party, Dennis will be presented with a key to the city and a commemorative plaque.

She says the Carolina Restaurant Group -- which operates the Wendy's where Dennis worked -- offered Dennis his job back and the family at first agreed, but she says the family ultimately decided against it.

We're told Dennis previously mentioned to his family he wanted to retire ... so his sister thinks it's best for him to move on from Wendy's.

Cona says Wendy's offered to cover costs for the retirement party, but as of now the city will foot the bill ... and folks in town are chipping in too.

The retirement bash is set for Nov. 5, and the family's also asking people to send Dennis "Happy Retirement" cards.

While Cona was initially looking into filing a wrongful termination lawsuit of a special needs worker, she tells us ... the family will NOT pursue legal action.

50 Cent's oldest son has a solution to mend his relationship with his famous dad ... offering a chunk of his child support money to buy back some father-son QT.

ICYMI, 25-year-old Marquise Jackson has been getting roasted online for an Instagram argument, where he claimed $6,700 wasn't enough cash flow for his mother to take care of him.

Not many people can relate to having an additional $80K per year, but Marquise is adamant it wasn't enough. He's taken it so far, he even flipped his dad's infamous "Broke" IG photo to spell out "Entitled" for all his haters.

He also issued a challenge to Fiddy -- accept $6,700, one month's worth of the child support his mom used to get -- in exchange for 24 hours of one-on-one time with his dad.

50 and Marquise have been unfortunately trading shots in the public ... so, it seems unlikely the hip hop mogul will take his seed up on the offer.

Amid the latest back and forth, he found time to respond via his alter-ego Kanan, his character from "Power" ... and posted the chilling scene where the character kills his son after a bitter dispute.

Fabolous wanted to wish his two-year-old daughter Journey a happy birthday ... but was quickly met with opposition from his estranged stepdaughter Taina Williams.

Fab posted a fairly cryptic message on Instagram Monday to celebrate the child's big day, speaking in codes about having faith while adding up her birthdates to establish symbolism for her life.

His original post got love from several of Fab's rap friends such as Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Ludacris and more ... but Taina would hear none of it and proceeded to scold him for allegedly being an absent daddy-o these last couple of years.

Fabolous and Emily B, Tania and Journey's mother, ended their longtime relationship earlier this year after nearly four years of marriage ...but according to Taina's tea, he's just gaslighting the situation and only keeps up his relationship with her brothers because the male-bonding is perfect for manipulation.

Fab and Emily infamously hit a rough patch in 2018 ... when Fab was accused of knocking out two of her teeth during a dispute that brought both sides of the family.

NeNe Leakes' 23-year-old son is lucky to be alive after a frightening medical emergency sent him to the hospital, and on a long road to recovery.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Brentt Leakes was in Atlanta earlier this month when he suffered both a heart attack and a stroke. Luckily, we're told Brentt was quickly transported to a local hospital for medical attention.

Our sources say while Brentt was hospitalized for several days, he's now out and rehabbing ... and everyone is hopeful he will make a full recovery.

It was last year when NeNe's husband, Gregg, who is also Brentt's father died after a long battle with cancer. Brentt was featured on 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' throughout NeNe's time on the show with his brother Bryson.

NeNe has not yet publicly commented on her son's situation.

'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Kathy Hilton claims everything is good between her and her sister Kyle Richards after their massive drama following the show's reunion taping ... but her social media activity might tell a different story.

Kathy was at the Beverly Hilton Saturday night, attending the Carousel of Hope Ball with her husband, Rick, and while fans were jumping at the opportunity to snap a pic, the tension between her and her sister was on other people's minds.

She's asked if everything's okay with Kyle -- Kathy quickly replies, "Yeah that's my sister, I love her."

Looks like a sign they might be working the drama out, but their comments online paint a different picture -- one where Kathy asks why her sis is crying, calling it "cruel and disgusting." Kyle coldly responded, "I don't think you want me to explain why."

As we reported, production sources told us the 2 are hardly on speaking terms after last month's reunion taping ... with only a few texts exchanged between them since.

Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo look like they've put his sexting scandal in their rearview, at least it looks that way on the surface after eyeballing these beach pics.

Adam and Behati took their kids on a bike ride to the beach Saturday and they were all cuddles and smiles.

The kids tried their hand at surfing near their home in Oprah Country, AKA Montecito, CA.

Adam wore a Rolex Daytona Cosmograph rainbow on the sand, which goes for more than $400k!

Behati, who's pregnant with their 3rd child, was all smiles ... which has pretty much been how she's looked since the scandal erupted 2 weeks ago.

As we reported, Adam and his band, Maroon 5, performed at Shaq's charity fundraiser in Vegas last weekend, to thunderous applause.

The sister of the longtime Wendy's employee with Down Syndrome who was recently unceremoniously canned is lashing out at the franchise.

Dennis Peek worked at a Wendy's in Stanley, North Carolina for 20 years, was fired without notice a few days back, and now his sister claims managers at the fast food joint told her Dennis couldn't do his job like a "normal" person.

Dennis's sister, Cona Young Turner, wrote on Facebook, "I am heart broken to say they have fired him ... They told me was unable to perform the duties of a normal persons job."

She went on ... "His dream was to retire from there some day and he was looking forward to a huge retirement party, we may just give him that party and tell him he has retired because he does not understand being fired."

She now says Wendy's has offered Dennis his job back, but he's not biting. She also says she's looking into filing a wrongful termination lawsuit of a special needs worker.

Cona says Dennis was deeply hurt by the firing, but she's gonna throw him a big retirement bash.