Family

A movie about Serena and Venus Williams -- focusing on their dad teaching 'em tennis -- is, apparently, getting blasted as sexist ... even though they're literally the ones behind it.

Count this as the biggest bad hot take of the week ... and Twitter mostly agrees -- this person seems to be woefully misinformed on the making of "King Richard" -- not to mention the real-life history of Serena and Venus in general -- which stars Will Smith as their father in the titular role, and sees a young Serena and Venus turning into sports prodigies.

A woman named Dr. Jessica Taylor laid into the fact that this flick was more about their pops than them, per se, which she found insulting for some reason ... and to which she expressed outrage, almost on their behalf.

She writes, "Did they seriously make a film called ‘King Richard’ about the success of Serena and Venus Williams - but it’s about their dad, Richard?" What Dr. Taylor fails to realize, it seems, is that Venus and Serena are executive producers of the film.

So the "they" she's referring to here is actually VW and SW ... and the internet let her know about it, with one person responding -- "Venus and Serena wanted it that way. They are literally the executive producers of the movie. Please sit down somewhere"

Unclear if this message got through to the good doctor, because she followed up with yet another equally tone-deaf remark ... saying, "I get this has annoyed people but I genuinely didn’t expect a film about two of the most powerful, successful and amazing black female athletes to be named after a man, or centre a man."

She adds, "I would have loved this film to be all about them, and not a man. That’s it really." The implication, in our eyes, is that there's sexism afoot with the way it's presented.

Of course, what Dr. Taylor, again, does not seem to understand ... Serena and Venus are obviously onboard with this approach to the film, as it's one they wanted to tell and even signed on to shepherd. They've spoken about this in interviews, too, saying they wanted to highlight the role their father played in their lives -- and the gratitude they feel for his hard work.

Funny enough, there are other film critics who are coming to the table with the same POV as this Twitter user -- finding fault in the fact that Will gets most of the shine, and not the girls.

Art LaFleur, famous for playing Babe Ruth in the classic baseball movie "The Sandlot," is dead.

The actor died Wednesday following a 10-year battle with Parkinson's disease ... according to his wife, Shelley. We're told he died at his home surrounded by his children and Shelley -- and although he was in hospice care, Art was cracking jokes to try to make his family laugh in the time leading up to his death.

His wife is remembering Art as a "generous and selfless man" ... qualities she says carried over into his acting career, "but more importantly it was who he was for his family and friends."

Art is most known, and beloved, for his role in 1993's "The Sandlot" -- but he was also in another big baseball flick, playing first baseman Chick Gandil in 1989's "Field of Dreams" alongside Kevin Costner.

He didn't get into acting until he moved from Chicago to Los Angeles way back in 1975 when he was already 31 years old. He went on to become one of those character actors audiences always recognized, acting in movies like "The Blob," "Cobra" and a couple of the 'Santa Clause' films.

He also landed episodic TV roles on "Malcolm in the Middle," "The Bernie Mac Show," "JAG" and many other shows.

Art was 78.

Karl-Anthony Towns got a lot of dope gifts for his 26th birthday on Monday -- but none were more meaningful than this ...

TMZ Sports has learned that one of KAT's good buddies got him an amazing diamond pendant -- that's worth over $16,000 -- to honor his late mother, Jackie, for the special day.

We're told Chuck Anthony -- who's been one of Towns' best pals for years -- hit up Tim Da Jeweler to get a bday gift for the Timberwolves center earlier this year.

Chuck wanted to pay tribute to Towns' mom, who passed away in April 2020 due to complications from COVID-19.

Tim tells us he and Anthony worked closely together on the project -- saying they "wanted to make something that would have some sentimental value to Karl given that he had a really hard time dealing with his mother's passing."

The honorary bling came out PERFECT ... it features a 48.6 gram yellow/white gold "J' pendant that's infused with 7.78 carats of round/emerald VVS Color E/F diamonds.

There's also a custom, hand-painted red rose with green and blue designs to give it "some pop," according to Tim.

It also comes with a 14k solid two-tone yellow gold/white gold rosary style chain -- and we're told it all cost $16,700.

Philadelphia Flyers center Kevin Hayes scored his first goal of the season Tuesday night ... and celebrated by pointing to the sky honoring his late brother, Jimmy, in an emotional moment.

It was Hayes' first home game of the 2021 season since Jimmy's tragic death in August ... and the 29-year-old made the most of it with a goal during the second period of the Flyers' OT win against the Calgary Flames.

Hayes immediately looked up and pointed to the sky and placed his hand on his chest after securing the goal ... with broadcasters acknowledging, "he scored for his brother."

"It was a big goal," Hayes said about the tribute during the post-game press conference.

"Trainers got the puck for me. I'm going to give it to Jimmy's son Beau and it'll be one I remember forever."

Kevin was devastated by his older brother's death on Aug. 23, saying the day after, "I lost my best friend, my brother."

"My whole life it has always been Jimmy and Kevin or the Hayes brothers."

"Our world lost someone special and I don’t know if I will ever be the same but till we meet again, I LOVE YOU JIM!"

Jimmy -- who played 7 seasons in the NHL for several teams including the Chicago Blackhawks -- was found dead at his Milton, Mass. home. The toxicology report confirmed fentanyl and cocaine were in his system.

Keyshia Cole has lost another family member this year -- her adoptive father just passed away due to COVID-19 ... only months after her mom died.

The singer shared the news Monday, saying Leon Cole -- the only father she's ever known -- lost his battle with the virus. Her tribute to him is touching, as she highlighted his devotion to her throughout her childhood ... even though she wasn't his blood-born daughter.

Keyshia writes, "He made sure (Even tho he wasn’t my biological father) to keep a stable foundation and roof over all of our heads during our upbringing!!!!" KC went on to shout out the fact Leon worked hard to provide for his family -- while imparting valuable lessons on religion, values, relationships (with women, specifically) and duty.

She adds, "Seriously the most loving guy I’ve ever known. And he’s gonna be missed so much! I hate that this has happened !!! And that I’ve now lost two beautiful souls within a few months from each other."

The death of her father comes a few short months after her biological mother, Frankie, died from a drug overdose this past summer. She'd reconciled with her mom in recent years -- much of which was documented on TV.

As Keyshia alludes to here ... her parents gave her up for adoption at a young age, and the Coles took her in and raised her in Oakland, CA ... and got her into music as well.

Team Mexico soccer player Chaka Rodriguez is opening up about a disturbing experience ... revealing his family has received death threats after losing to rival Team USA in CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.

Many fans were upset after Rodriguez's squad lost 2-0 in heartbreaking fashion in a qualifying match on Friday ... but according to the right-back, several crossed the line when taking their frustrations out on Chaka and his family.

Rodriguez shared a direct message exchange with one person ... saying, "Miguel, I'm the husband of the wife you wrote to," Rodriguez wrote (in Spanish) on Instagram. "I understand that my work in the national team can be the cause of all of this in you. I don't justify it, but I understand it."

"I ask you please not to write anymore to my wife, to rape and kill are very cruel words," he continued. "Miguel, we don't deserve this, least of all to include family. I hope this is over now. May God bless you."

Despite it all, ... Rodriguez seems to be committed to fulfilling his obligation to his teammates ... writing, "I honestly take into account the positives and negatives..."

Amazing news from Asia Durr -- the New York Liberty guard just announced that she got the green light to return to the court ... after missing two WNBA seasons due to COVID-related symptoms.

"I have been cleared to play basketball! Yeaaah! Let's go!!!" Durr said on her IG live on Monday.

Remember, Durr -- the #2 overall pick in the 2019 draft -- was diagnosed with COVID in June 2020 ... and was sidelined for the entire 2020 season.

And, she had serious health issues ... saying on HBO's "Real Sports" earlier this year she lost 32 pounds and major lung problems due to the virus.

The symptoms didn't go away and the 24-year-old also missed the entire 2021 season ... but after an extensive amount of testing, AD is officially good to go for 2022.

"I will be training every single day to play next year. I'm officially cleared to work out," Durr said.

"Man I remember when I was so sick, bro. I remember praying and asking God for this day like 'God, if I can just see one more if I can play again'. Literally."

Her prayers were answered ... and AD gives big credit to her family and fiancée, Ashley, for helping her get through it all -- getting tears in her eyes as she thanked them.

"God has really blessed me with a strong support system. I feel like if I didn't have them, I don't know where I would have been. I'm getting choked up talking about it, for real."

Several WNBA stars like Sabrina Ionescu congratulated Durr on her recovery -- as well as NBA star Donovan Mitchell, saying "YESSSSIRRRRRRR"

Durr was drafted by the NY Liberty in 2019 after four seasons with the Louisville Cardinals, where she was a 2-time ACC Player of the Year.

In the 2019 season, she averaged 9.7 points per game with a 46% shooting percentage.

Britney Spears is now in the wind-down phase of the conservatorship that has now ended, and the woman who was her personal conservator wants the post-conservatorship plan kept secret, and the reason has to do with her distrust of Jamie Spears.

Jodi Montgomery filed legal docs several days before Friday's hearing that ended with the termination of the nearly 14-year-long conservatorship. Montgomery said in legal docs, she and others in Britney's camp filed a "termination plan," which includes guidelines "for supportive decision-making to help [Britney] adjust and transition to life outside of the conservatorship."

The plan contains sensitive medical information as well as information about Britney's 2 kids. There is also information about Britney's business interests and finances.

Montgomery only wants to circulate the plan to the judge and Britney's lawyer ... but no one else. She says that limited distribution reflects Britney's wishes.

Montgomery says, "From the history of this case, it is no secret that Ms. Spears has had a contentious relationship with her family, especially her father, Mr. Spears." She goes on, "Given the history of this case, it is clear that Ms. Spears does not want her medical or other privacy rights invaded by her father or any other party in this conservatorship case."

Prosecutors in the investigation involving the death of Chris Daughtry's step-daughter, Hannah, say they are not classifying it as a homicide investigation -- at least not yet -- but as we reported, that's not what sources connected to the Daughtry family say what happened.

The 8th District Tennessee D.A. says, "This is a death investigation and any attempt to classify it as a homicide investigation at this time is premature and irresponsible."

As we reported, sources directly connected to the Daughtry family told TMZ ... detectives told the family Hannah's death was a homicide.

25-year-old Hannah was found dead Friday at her home.

The same day as her body was found, Hannah's boyfriend, Bobby Jolly, was arrested on an unrelated matter and is currently in custody. He has not been labeled either a suspect or a person of interest in Hannah's death.

Hannah and her brother Griffin, 23, are Deanna's children from a previous relationship. Chris, 41, and Deanna, 48, who met in 2000, also share twins Adalynn Rose and Noah James, 10.

The 9-year-old boy who was trampled at Astroworld Fest and left fighting for his life has sadly died from his injuries -- making him the 10th death from the festival.

Ezra Blount passed away Sunday at Texas Children's Hospital, after being on life support since Friday, November 5, when he was among the hundreds who were injured during Travis Scott's headlining show.

The family's attorney, Ben Crump, tells TMZ, "The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son. This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration. Ezra's death is absolutely heartbreaking. We are committed to seeking answers and justice for the Blount family. But tonight we stand in solidarity with the family, in grief, and in prayer."

The kid was in attendance with his father, who's reported to have lifted his son up onto his shoulders once the crowd surge became unbearable. Unfortunately, Ezra's father passed out during the ordeal ... leaving young Ezra to fall to the ground during the chaos ... and be subjected to being crushed on by the panicked crowd around them.

He sustained serious bodily harm -- ones that left him with severe swelling of the brain and internal bleeding ... and since then, his family has been hoping he'd be able to recover.

Ezra's grandfather gave a heartbreaking interview to ABC13 in Houston ... recounting his son and grandson's harrowing experience at the festival. He didn't seem to lay much blame at Travis' feet, per se -- but rather, said police and security should've stepped in.

Like we said ... Ezra had been hospitalized since the horrific event, and was eventually placed in a medically induced coma -- with the hope that he would be able to heal enough to gain consciousness again ... but that never happened.

As we reported ... civil rights attorney Ben Crump was hired by the family and already filed a lawsuit alleging negligence on the parts of multiple parties -- including Travis himself, Live Nation and others involved in organizing the festival.

Crump said, "This young child and his family will face life-altering trauma from this day forward, a reality that nobody expects when they buy concert tickets."

Britney Spears is now a free woman, because the judge has swiftly ended her conservatorship ... effective immediately.

The judge terminated the conservatorship without requiring any further mental evaluation ... something Britney was adamant about.

The hearing started with Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, quoting Britney's June testimony ... in which she said, "I just want my life back."

The judge then went around to all the lawyers and others assembled both in court and online, asking them whether they had any objections. Not a single person -- lawyers and all -- had a problem with ending the conservatorship.

Both the conservatorship of Britney's person and the conservatorship of her estate have been terminated, with minor exceptions. Rosengart wanted the estate conservatorship to remain solely to execute the necessary documents so the assets she has in the conservatorship can be transferred to a trust controlled by Britney.

The judge then read her order ending this saga ... and it took just around 30 minutes start to finish.

This doesn't end the dispute over the way the conservatorship was handled, because Rosengart has made it clear ... he wants a full accounting from everyone involved in the conservatorship, especially Jamie Spears and business manager Lou Taylor, to show how much money they have moved from the conservatorship to their accounts. Now all that said, Rosengart said ultimately it's up to Britney on whether she wants to pursue Jamie and Lou Taylor.

Rosengart did make one thing clear ... he said after the hearing, "This conservatorship was corrupted by James P. Spears."

Rosengart believes there has been misappropriation of assets by various people in the conservatorship, at the expense of Britney. As we reported, her estate is worth an estimated $60 million ... and Rosengart believes it should be much larger and would be but for lawyers, Jamie, Lou Taylor and others taking cuts and salaries from the estate.

As for Britney, she has her life back in full, and as you know ... the decks are now cleared for her to marry Sam, have a baby if she wants and to buy a new house -- something we know they want. We're told Britney has bad memories in the house where she's lived during the long-running conservatorship.

Rosengart has put in place what he calls a "safety net" so Britney gets support on both personal and financial matters.  Her personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, has agreed to stay on and work for Britney, and Rosengart has put a financial manager in place to protect and grow her assets.

And, TMZ broke the story ... Britney wants to get back in the studio and record music, although she has not selected a producer or the material for a new album.

We're told she has no plans to perform again ... at least at this time.

The FreeBritney folks were front and center on the courthouse steps as the hearing began. They are going nuts right now ... elated with the decision.

Britney Spears is not playing her cards close to the vest ... in fact, she's wearing them on her t-shirt -- she wants out of her conservatorship, and it could happen today.

Britney and her fiance, Sam Asghari, mugs for the cam with the words, "#FreeBritney, It's a human rights movement" front and center.

It's no secret Britney wants the 13+-year conservatorship to come to an end at Friday's court hearing. That could happen, but it's by no means certain.

Terminating the conservatorship is squarely before the judge. Her attorney, Mathew Rosengart, has presented his case ... that it's incongruous for someone to be under a conservatorship who is also able to work and function day-to-day. He's also alleged a slew of misdeeds on the part of conservators and others, including Britney's dad, Jamie Spears.

The key to the hearing will be whether the judge orders a mental evaluation ... something that has been regularly done and evaluated every year of the conservatorship. Britney has made it clear, she does NOT want such an evaluation, and even Jamie Spears has done a 180 and said his daughter's conservatorship should end without such an evaluation.

The judge could still order a mental evaluation, but she's given no indication which way she's leaning.

One thing is clear ... Judge Penny is sympathetic to Britney. After the singer unloaded in court last June -- laying out in detail how the conservatorship has been torturous for her -- the judge complimented her bravery in speaking out.

The hearing is set for 1:30 PM and TMZ will be all over it.

Larry Hoover Jr. is trying to broker peace between Kanye West and Drake ... asking Drake to lower the temperature in their ongoing feud, and join forces in the name of freeing his infamous father.

LHJ, the son of the famous Chicago gangster, tells TMZ ... Drake has the power to help free Larry Hoover, IF he checks his ego and accepts Kanye's proposed peace offering -- a benefit concert starring both rap superstars.

As you know ... Kanye's been fighting to free Hoover, the former head of a major gang in Chicago who was convicted of murder back in the 1970s and sentenced to 6 life sentences. In a video, seemingly orchestrated by James Prince, Ye's already asked Drake to join him for the upcoming Free Larry Hoover Concert ... planned for Dec. 7 in Los Angeles.

Larry Jr. says he and his mother, Winndye, already met Drake at J. Prince's place in Texas a few months ago ... which is why he thinks it makes sense for them to put aside their differences and work together.

While Hoover was convicted of murder, lots of folks believe he has done more than enough hard time for his crime ... and Larry Jr. says his dad qualifies to be freed.

Dennis Rodman made a surprise visit to his daughter's soccer game over the weekend -- and she says it was a very emotional and shocking moment ... revealing the two barely speak to each other.

Trinity Rodman -- who went #2 overall in the National Women Soccer League draft in January -- explained on social media on Monday that the former NBA star popped up out of nowhere at her Washington Spirits game on Sunday.

In her post, she said it's the first time she's seen him in a very long time ... and called the reunion at the game against the North Carolina Courage "an extremely emotional one."

"Yes Dennis Rodman showed up to an Nwsl game, but also my dad, after YEARS surprised me at a big game in my career," the 19-year-old said. "I was shocked, overwhelmed, happy, sad, everything."

Trinity -- who shared a photo of the two at the game in her post -- says Rodman hasn't been in her life much ... and explained sometimes they go months without seeing each other.

"My dad doesn’t play a big role in my life at all and most people don’t know that, we don’t see eye to eye on many things," Trinity said.

"Being in spotlights has been hard for us, him and me. We don’t have the best relationship, but at the end of the day he’s human I’m human."

But, Trinity did say she hopes their emotional moment on the pitch will be the start of a better daddy-daughter relationship.

"He's my dad, and I’m his little girl that will never change," Trinity wrote. "I will improve and look forward everyday as I hope he does."

Dennis had Trinity and his son, Dennis Jr., with Michelle Moyer, who he met in 1999. They married in 2003, but Michelle filed for divorce in 2004. It was finalized in 2012.

"Here's the thing about my mom, she's a dumb, disgusting slut and everything she says is pretty much complete horse s**t. My father is an old irrelevant piece of s**t, and that's me putting it gently."

That's AEW Star MJF going scorched-earth on his OWN PARENTS -- the people who brought him into this world -- all because they recently insulted him at AEW Rampage.

Let's explain.

During the wrestling show, broadcaster Josh Shernoff interviewed a couple claiming to be MJF's 'rents ... as they held a sign saying "We're MJF's parents and we think he sucks too!"

Maxwell Jacob Friedman's mom and dad also apologized to the audience for bringing their son into the world ... and called him a "f***ing idiot" for good measure.

Savage.

MJF, one of the biggest heels in wrestling, doesn't turn the other cheek -- not even for mom and dad -- so when he recently sat down with Shernoff, he went in on his parents.

In addition to calling mom a "dumb, disguising slut" and dad an "old, irrelevant piece of s**t," the wrestler added the following, just in case the relationship with his folks wasn't totally beyond repair.

"I do not associate with them, they are clearly very money hungry and fame hungry and it doesn't shock me at all that they were willing to take you, a very dumb, very dumb interviewer, and convince you into showing them to the world so they could have all these people listen to them," MJF said, insulting FITE's Shernoff to his face.

The family of Tina Tintor -- the woman who was killed in the Henry Ruggs car crash last week -- received over $94k in donations after setting up a GoFundMe to help pay for costs associated with the 23-year-old's death.

The fundraiser was created over the weekend ... with the Tintor family receiving thousands of donations totaling over $94k, as of late Monday morning.

The initial goal was only $7,000.

Several kind-hearted people donated over $1k ... and one person even gave $5k.

The family is clearly grateful for the love and support. Her mom wrote, "Our lives were changed forever when Tina passed away alongside Max on the morning of November 2, 2021."

"Those who knew Tina know that she was a beautiful loving soul that always put everyone before herself."

"From our hearts to yours, we thank you for thinking of Tina and Max, and we really appreciate your support."

As we reported, the former Las Vegas Raiders' receiver Ruggs was driving his Corvette at 157 MPH just 2.5 seconds before smashing into Tintor's Toyota from behind early Tuesday morning.

Authorities say Ruggs struck her at 127 MPH causing the Toyota to burst into flames ... killing her and her Golden Retriever Max before help could arrive.

Ruggs -- who was released by the Raiders shortly after the deadly crash -- was arrested and hit with five charges, four of them felonies ... including DUI resulting in death, DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm and two reckless driving charges.