Family

Swizz Beatz's son, Nasir Dean, is ready to make a name for himself in Hollywood ... and he's taken his first big step after landing a role in a feature film.

We've learned Nasir will star in the new film, "Charge It To The Game" ... a coming-of-age story about 4 best friends who are finding their way through adolescence while navigating the obstacles that come with growing up.

Nasir will play the role of Preach ... one of the four best friends.

We're told this is a huge step for Nasir ... who's wanted to break into the acting biz for a long time. Just a couple of years ago ... Nasir was featured in a music video for Common's track "Hercules" featuring Swizz Beatz. After that performance ... he got several offers from producers and filmmakers but, at the time, Nasir wanted to stay focused on his music career.

Under his stage name, Note Marcato, he released an EP "BeachBum Limbo" last year with Epic Records and he's got a new music project slated to be released later this year dubbed "Mr. Cardinal."

But, the itch to act has always been there, according to his manager and attorney, Nichole Levy. We're told he auditioned for a role in season 2 of HBO's hit show "Euphoria." He didn't land it but then "Charge It To The Game" came a-knockin'.

We're told Swizz is psyched about his son landing the role ... and while he's got a ton of pull in Hollywood and beyond, we're told he's been hands-off about Nasir's career ... given Nasir's desire to develop his own brand.

Weddings in India are hardcore, 'cause even a bride's death didn't kill the wedding day vibes -- the groom just married the woman who was going to be his sister-in-law ... on the spot!

The strange tale played out when a bride, identified only as Surbhi, reportedly collapsed and died of a heart attack just as the ceremony kicked off last week, and she exchanged traditional garlands with her hubby-to-be, Mangesh Kumar.

Sadly, Surbhi was declared dead at the scene. Now, this would normally put a halt to most, if not all, wedding ceremonies. But in this case, the bride and groom's families reportedly huddled up and came up with a solution -- Surbhi's family offered up her sister, Nisha.

When the wedding resumed ... the dead bride's body was taken to another room. 😑

Nisha and Surbhi's bro told the Times of India, "It was a bizarre situation as the wedding of my younger sister took place while the dead body of my other sister was laying in another room."

So, why'd the wedding continue? The bride's mother reportedly pled for the shindig to go on as planned. The groom's family reportedly would have been expecting a dowry.

Vanessa Bryant says Nike shoes she designed to honor Kobe and Gianna have been leaked ... and she's outraged over it, claiming they should have NEVER been made.

VB explained the situation early Thursday morning ... saying during recent talks with Nike, she helped create a version of the Kobe 6 Protro that was meant to honor her two loved ones who tragically died in a 2020 helicopter crash.

Vanessa says the shoes featured a black and white colorway, Gianna's #2, and other specific marks like a butterfly, wings and a halo.

The problem? Vanessa says after her split with Nike this spring, approval for the shoes to be made was NOT given -- but she claims they've somehow been leaked anyway and posted a photo of someone holding the shoe in their hand!

"Nike has NOT sent any of these pairs to me and my girls," Vanessa said in a statement.

"I do not know how someone else has their hands on shoes I designed in honor of my daughter, Gigi, and we don't. I hope these shoes did not get sold."

Vanessa added she wanted the shoes to be sold "to honor my daughter with ALL of the proceeds benefitting our @mambamambacitasports foundation."

Vanessa then asked her followers to track down the shoes ... writing on social media, "If someone can share how they have these shoes in their possession, that would be great because my daughters and I don’t have any of Gigi’s MAMBACITA shoes."

An Instagram user, brandon1an, who originally posted professional photos of the "Mambacita" shoes nearly 3 weeks ago, claims Nike is the one responsible for the shoe leak.

"I just want to make it clear that I don't own a pair of those Mambacita Kobes," the IG user said in a statement Thursday morning.

"The pictures I posted are official product pictures from a Nike authorized retailer."

The user continued, "Unfortunately for [Vanessa Bryant], Nike clearly sent pairs to this retailer (as well as others) with the intent of selling pairs."

Grizzlies star Ja Morant's mom will NOT be in Utah to watch Memphis take on the Jazz on Wednesday ... after fans made disgusting and racist remarks towards their family earlier in the playoff series.

3 Jazz fans were banned indefinitely for comments made to Morant's parents during Game 2 on May 26 ... with Ja's dad, Tee, telling ESPN the harassment was "straight up disrespectful."

Jazz owner Ryan Smith apologized to the Morants and offered courtside seats, transportation and a hotel to Game 5 for family and friends ... but Tee says Ja's mother, Jamie, will not be in attendance due to their recent experience at Vivint Arena.

"She said her anxiety couldn't take it," Tee told the outlet ... while adding it was a "nice gesture" for the Jazz to offer their services for Wednesday's game.

Tee also spoke about the harassment experienced during Game 2 ... saying, "It was unfortunate. It was just a few fans -- most of them were great and cheering right alongside with us."

Ja denounced the Jazz fans' actions on Twitter last week, saying, "my family should be able cheer for me & my teammates without getting inappropriate s*** said to them."

Smith added ... "Memphis Grizzlies and Morant family... we are embarrassed and sorry. The @utahjazz have zero tolerance for offensive behavior. We are committed to creating a respectful, competitive environment."

Bam Margera's been sending increasingly disturbing messages to 'Jackass' director Jeff Tremaine, including threatening his safety and that of his children ... according to new legal docs.

The court has granted Tremaine's request for a temporary restraining order against Bam, requiring him to stay at least 100 yards away from Jeff, his wife and kids ... and to stop contacting him.

Tremaine claims he's been getting harassed by Bam since February, after Jeff says Bam no-showed for a virtual meeting to discuss how he could help Margera with his mental health and sobriety struggles.

Since then, according to the docs, Bam's been on the warpath on social media. Tremaine claims Margera's publicly attacked him, threatened violence, compared him to Harvey Weinstein, posted obscene drawings and made a comment that he and Johnny Knoxville can "pencil in there [sic] death certificate."

On top of that, Tremaine claims Bam's sent him several direct threats against his kids, including one that read ... "Look at your children and grab your pocket book and write a check, if you are greedy, and cheap, look at your children again. If you don‘t sign the paper, look at you children. Sign your stupid f***ing contract before your (sic) not safe anywhere."

According to Jeff, the contract Bam is referring to seems to be one Margera wrote up himself. Tremaine says he's in great fear for his family's and his personal safety.

Lance Bass and his husband Michael Turchin are doubling their family fun -- and perhaps their number of sleepless hours -- they're expecting twins this fall, one boy and one girl!!!

The 'NSYNC singer says the twins are due in early November, and things are finally looking up this time after going through 9 different egg donors and tons of hurdles.

Lance and Michael told PEOPLE the stars finally aligned after a different surrogate suffered a miscarriage in March 2020, sending them back to square one.

The couple's crediting their actor friend Taylor Frey with turning them on to their current surrogate and egg donor, and despite the heartbreak from 2020 ... Lance and Michael felt comfortable telling family about the pregnancy after 9 weeks in.

Remember, Lance and Michael were in the super early baby planning stages back in April 2018, telling us how they were going to decide whose sperm to use.

The competition sounds like it ended in a tie ... Lance and Michael say they each fertilized one of the embryos.

DMX's music is still living on through his daughter ... she took the stage at a show in his honor, and she put her own twist on her father's famous songs.

X's 8-year-old daughter, Sonovah Hillman Jr., grabbed the mic and did her thing Saturday at the Wildcatter Saloon in Katy, TX ... remixing a few classic DMX songs like "Slippin'" and "Ruff Ryders' Anthem."

Check out the video ... Sonovah can flow just like X.

TMZ broke the story ... the late rapper was set to play at the venue in late May, but after X's death, the bar decided to throw a tribute concert instead.

The tribute show developed into a family affair, with DMX's fiancée, Desiree, and their son, Exodus, in attendance ... thanking fans for all their prayers. Sonovah's mother was also there.

Metro Marrs vows to pull off the same stunt next year and make it rain at his brother's HS graduation ... but the forecast will call for twice as much rain.

The budding rapper tells TMZ ... he plans to throw $20k in the air next year when he hits up his bro's ceremony at Langston Hughes High in nearby Atlanta. But, now that the cat's out of the bag, how does he plan on pulling off the stunt if he's giving school officials a heads up?

Don't fret ... Marrs says the school's cool with him and, even though he was detained by police for the stunt, he says it's totally worth it because in his eyes he's giving back.

And, to show the school's got no hard feelings ... Marrs tells us he actually visited his principal's office the day after graduation, and they pretty much dapped it up.

As we reported ... the "Bye Felicia" rapper was busted for throwing $10k after crossing stage at his own HS graduation. The crowd went nuts ... but the stunt ultimately led to him being detained for inciting a riot and disorderly conduct. He also got ticketed. 😑

Juice WRLD ripped off another musician's beat and tried to pass it off as his own ... this according to a new lawsuit against the rapper's estate.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, a guy with the stage name Ghost Loft claims he made a song called "So High" way back in 2013, only for Juice WRLD to rip off 16 bars for his song "Scared of Love" on JW's 2018 album "Goodbye & Good Riddance."

In the docs, Ghost Loft claims Juice WRLD and Mitch Mula are the only credited writers on 'Scared,' even though he says Mula later admitted to sampling his beat, and he says 'Scared' wouldn't exist without him.

Ghost Loft is suing Juice WRLD's mother and executor of his estate, Carmella Wallace, as well as Mula, Universal Music Group and Interscope ... and he's going after them for damages, an injunction prohibiting Juice's estate from profiting off the song and a writing credit.

TMZ broke the story ... Juice WRLD died in December 2019 at Chicago's Midway airport, the result of an accidental overdose of oxycodone.

Kim Kardashian had a really bad case of COVID-19 along with her kids, which shut down production of her show for 2 weeks ... and she says it disrupted her studying for her second crack at the baby bar.

A teaser for "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" already revealed Saint had tested positive for the virus -- but on Thursday night's episode we find out the health crisis went far beyond her oldest son, and affected her whole brood.

Kim says Saint tested positive after an apparent outbreak at his school, and she was really worried about him because he was crying and coughing a lot ... on her. Of course, with 3 other kids in the house, she was also concerned about it spreading, and that's exactly what happened.

North started feeling sick soon after, and eventually both she and Kim discovered they had COVID too. At that point, producers decided to shut down all 'KUWTK' shoots for 14 days while the family quarantined.

Kim says she had some severe symptoms, like a 104-degree fever ... exactly when she was supposed to be putting in 12-hour daily study sessions to retake the baby bar exam -- which as we reported, she'd previously flunked.

Fortunately, everyone in the fam recovered okay, but it seems Kim failed on take 2 of the test. Earlier this week, she said she was studying to take it again.

It's still unclear exactly when COVID hit Kim and her kids since the show was filmed months ago, but we know Khloe contracted the virus sometime in 2020 and revealed on 'KUWTK' that her symptoms were so bad ... Kris Jenner called every doctor she could think of for help.

Kim previously stated Kanye West also had it in the very early days of the pandemic.

Tawny Kitaen's family and closest friends gathered to remember the late actress one last time, with an intimate celebration of life in the town where she died.

Tawny's brother, Jordan Kitaen, tells TMZ ... her memorial service was held Monday at her ex-husband Chuck Finley's home in Newport Beach, CA. We're told about 100 people attended, including the 2 daughters she had with Chuck.

As you can see, the program for Tawny's memorial service remembered her as a "loving mother, daughter, sister, friend, artist ... and now our angel." The back of the program featured one of her paintings.

There was a musical element too ... we're told her nephew, Leo, played "Let It Be" on the violin and her friend, Victoria Shaw, sang an acapella version of "Never Alone."

TMZ broke the story ... 59-year-old Tawny died May 7 in Newport, not long after her father had passed. Jordan told us the loss of their dad was too much for Tawny to handle.

The man who voiced Sebastian in "The Little Mermaid" got what he always wanted after his passing -- a Broadway tribute.

Samuel E. Wright's daughter Dee tells TMZ ... her father's death has been very emotional for the family, but they're also overjoyed that one of his wishes came true.

As we told you ... Sam was a veteran theater actor who starred in several popular Broadway shows -- including originating the part of Mufasa in "The Lion King." Dee says he always joked with the family, "When I go, I want my name up there!" ... referring to the theater marquees.

Well, on Tuesday after news broke of Wright's death, Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre honored him by doing precisely that.

Sam's daughter adds ... the fam's actually in good spirits, which she says may seem odd ... but it's a testament to his joy and positivity.

Dee also says the outpouring of support they've seen on social media from his fans and actors he worked with has been overwhelming.

Wright's public wake will be held Friday in Walden, NY for fans to come and show their love ... something the family feels is the best gift they can give him.

Eric Carle, the artist and author who created one of the best-selling children's books of all time, is dead.

The man behind "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" died Sunday, according to his family. Eric's son, Rolf, told the New York Times the famous author died at his summer studio in Northampton, MA, as a result of kidney failure.

Eric illustrated more than 70 children's books during his career, which amazingly didn't start until he was in his late 30s. He's most famous for 'Hungry Caterpillar,' which was published in 1969 and went on to sell a whopping 55 million plus copies.

All told, Carle's publisher, Penguin Random House, says his books have sold more than 170 million copies.

Carle says 'Caterpillar' is meant to be a story of hope for children as they enter kindergarten ... and it's known for its colorful illustrations and a modest 224 words. The book's been translated into more than 70 different languages.

Eric's also known for his illustrations in the 1967 children's book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" He did the drawings for his friend, Bill Martin Jr., who authored the book.

Carle was 91.

Brad Pitt just won a huge victory in his child custody war with Angelina Jolie, and she lost in a very big way ... TMZ has confirmed.

A judge just made a tentative ruling in the case, awarding Brad and Angelina 50/50 joint legal and physical custody of their 5 minor children. Maddox is 19 and not subject to the ruling.

Angelina had been gunning for sole custody and at the time only wanted Brad to have supervised visitation, but the judge felt her arguments that Brad was not a suitable parent lacked credibility ... this after numerous witnesses -- including shrinks -- testified in the trial.

A source connected to Brad tells TMZ, "he's over the moon."

The ruling is "tentative," but typically tentative rulings are just a formality before they become final. The NY Post first reported the ruling.

DMX's first posthumous album is going to be named after his youngest son -- something that had been in the works before he passed ... and it's now happening thanks to a longtime collaborator.

The CEO of Ruff Ryders Inc., Joaquin Dean, tells TMZ, X's newest album -- the first to hit shelves since his passing -- is going to be titled "Exodus" ... but fans might not have realized it was an idea X had kicked around at length before he died.

We're told DMX had been working on this album for the past year ... as he was growing closer and closer to his 4-year-old, whom he shared with his widowed fiancee, Desiree.

Dean says X had expressed to his lifelong friend Swizz Beatz -- who helped produce "Exodus" -- he wanted to name the project after his boy. So, to fulfill that wish, Swizz made the call to honor X's wish.

In addition to the title, there are two tracks on the album that reference X's relationship with his son -- including a track called "Exodus Skit" and "Letter to my Son (Call Your Father)." "Exodus" also happens to be the final tattoo DMX got before his passing.

Emotional moment after the Packers' workouts Tuesday ... star RB Aaron Jones was asked how he's doing in the wake of his father's death, and he couldn't help but tear up talking about it all.

Jones' dad tragically passed away at 57-years-old from COVID-19 complications in early April ... and the Green Bay tailback took it very hard.

He and his father, Alvin Jones Sr., were super close ... and Aaron told media members Tuesday he owes his entire football career to the man.

In fact, Aaron said every time he plays a snap in the NFL for the rest of his life -- it's now getting dedicated to Alvin Sr.

"The rest of my career will be dedicated to my father," the 26-year-old said. "I mean, he's the reason I started playing football. He's what kept me going so many times when, as a kid, you want to give up, he's what kept me going."

"So, like I said, I'm going to dedicate the rest of my career to him."

Aaron was asked several more questions about his father and how his Packers teammates were helping him get through the tough time ... and that's when tears started flowing from his eyes.

"I have a locker room full of brothers here who are making sure I'm OK," Aaron said. "So, some nights I'm there with them on their couch and different things like that."

"So, that's what this game is all about. Having your brothers around you."